New massive cranes at Port of Saint John unload 1st set of containers

Two massive cranes that have changed the Saint John skyline are officially in operation at the city's port. 

Spectators gathered at 8 a.m. Thursday to watch the 100-foot cranes unload containers from a ship for the first time.

Craig Estabrooks, the president and CEO of Port Saint John, said it took four months of "a tremendous amount of effort" to get the cranes ready for full operation. 

The monumental occasion also marks the end of a project to overhaul the port's west side. 

Estabrooks said getting the cranes operational also required paving the dock and building the rail infrastructure — so the cranes can move across the new pier — and training the staff.

WATCH | These cranes will more than double the amount of cargo that can be unloaded at the port:

Container cranes now operational in Port of Saint John

2 years ago

Duration 0:46

2 new super post-Panamax cranes, weighing more than 16,000 tonnes, have the capacity for bigger loads — and additional jobs.

Estabrooks said compared to the port's cranes at the Rodney terminal, these are much wider and allow for a deeper reach. That means the port can now accept larger ships. 

"It's all about productivity in the container business, so they'll allow greater moves per hour and more efficiency on the ship," he told Information Morning Saint John. 

Estabrooks said the port is now testing these cranes with a goal to have two container-ship docks operational at the same time. 

"Wouldn't it be great if there were a couple of cruise ships in the same day?"

This has been a long-standing goal for the port, he said, and has been in the works for 10 years. 

"We began scoping this over a decade ago, lining up partners, and it's just been such a journey to see this happen," said Estabrooks. 

The new cranes will create economic growth in the region, requiring more workers at the port itself. The move will also impact rail partners, including the hiring of harbour pilots.

There are so many different jobs that are related to movement, he said.

That's why some of the best thriving port cities in the world "are directly tied with really great growth in the container industry."