The Prince Rupert skyline is permanently changed.
The Zhen Hua 25 successfully completed its 1.5-month voyage from China to Prince Rupert on Saturday morning, delivering three Malacca-max gantry cranes to the south side of Fairview Container Terminal.
The ship was escorted by three SAAM SMIT Towage tugs making its way through Fairview Channel and docked at the terminal at approximately 9:45 a.m.
The cranes are approximately 40 feet taller than the existing cranes at Fairview. They will be loaded off the Zhen Hua 25 over the coming days and assembled on the south side of the terminal.
The total number of cranes at Fairview has now reached seven, and workers can load and unload two container ships at once. The new cranes can also handle the largest container ships in the world that shipping companies have to offer.
Not only are the cranes taller, but the beams at the top are longer, covering a greater distance across the ships, as more and more vessels carrying containers get wider.
Twenty-eight sailors, all Chinese, made the trip on the Zhen Hua 25.
The ship made its way through heavy fog conditions as Saturday morning brought lots of mist to Prince Rupert
A B.C. pilot boarded the ship right before it made its way into the inner harbour to help navigate the vessel in tight quarters. Two tugboats met it from Prince Rupert in the open ocean and a third joined in Fairview Channel.
DP World Prince Rupert’s Fairview Container Terminal Phase 2 North expansion is scheduled to be completed this summer. The cranes’ arrival was the most anticipated part of that expansion by many North Coast residents.
