Big crane sneaks under the bridge
Mammoth structure heads to the Port of Portland

By CASSANDRA PROFITA
The Daily Astorian

Cloaked in darkness and enveloped in fog, the Port of Portland's 16-story container crane snuck under the Astoria Bridge at 5:30 this morning while most of the town was still asleep.

For a few bleary-eyed onlookers, a glimmer of light atop the loaded Chinese ship Zhen Hua 17 gave the only indication of just how close it came to touching the span as it slipped by.

According to Columbia River Bar Pilot Capt. Mike Tierney, who was at the helm during the crossing, it came pretty darn close. Three Port of Portland engineers perched on the 185-foot crane measured just four feet of clearance.

"They high-fived the beam as they went underneath it," said Tierney.

As Tierney and Bar Pilot Capt. Gary Lewin steered the ship toward the bridge, they had to speed up to beat a wall of fog rolling in. Thick fog could have delayed the crossing by blocking the laser the engineers use to measure the clearance.

"We were racing the fog," said Tierney. "We saw the wisps of fog coming out of Youngs Bay ... it was a little disconcerting. So we sped it up to 3 knots."

The pilots got the ship to the bridge just in time. Shortly after the crossing, fog washed over the river.

A line of trucks waited on the U.S. Highway 101 ramp because the bridge was closed for the occasion. Oregon Department of Transportation staff stood guard on the roadbed as the ship passed underneath.

As daybreak set the eastern sky aglow, the crane's 490-foot-wide frame, with a giant arm jutting 250 feet out over the water, could be seen cruising past Tongue Point on its way upriver.

Ensuring safe passage
The Port of Portland's fourth Post-Panamax container crane is wrapping up a month-long, 5,800-mile trek across the Pacific Ocean from Shanghai, China, to the Port of Portland's Terminal 6.

It crossed the Columbia River bar Wednesday and anchored near Hammond overnight to take in ballast water and wait for low tide.

The ballast drew the ship deeper underwater, which, together with the low tide, gave the crane a few extra feet of clearance.

Once it passed the bridge, the bar pilots handed the ship off to two Columbia River Pilots, who will take it upriver to Portland over the next few days.

The pilots have been planning for the crane's arrival for about a month.

Because of its unusual size and shape, the U.S. Coast Guard imposed a security zone around the crane and three tug boats are assisting it all the way up the river.

The ship's air draft - the distance from the water to its highest point - towers about 50 feet above the typical cargo going up and down the Columbia.

Bar Pilot Capt. Robert Johnson, who piloted the Port's third container crane in 2006, said the tugs add maneuverability to help ensure safe passage.

"If they did get up to the bridge and for some reason had to stop the ship, the tug boats would be able to stop it and keep it under control," he said.

Now that it's past Astoria, the crane has an even trickier undertaking: Crossing under the Lewis and Clark Bridge in Longview, Wash., with just 195 feet of clearance.

That task will be handled by two Columbia River Pilots and will require a modification of the crane itself, which was built with a 3-foot folding pillar that will be dropped once the ship gets to Longview.

River Pilot Capt. Paul Amos, who guided the 2006 crane up the river, said it is a challenge to steer the oversized load under bridges and power lines and around tight bends. But it gets easier for the pilots each time they do it.

"We're getting it down to a science," he said.

A competitive edge
The crane was constructed by Zhenhau Port Machinery Company in Shanghai, China. ZPMC delivered the Port's third such crane in May 2006.

Each of the Port's container cranes can handle about 30 containers per hour. As wide as two city blocks, they're built to span the largest vessels that call on the Port of Portland and can reach over as many as 18 containers to grab cargo off a ship.

These large ships, referred to as "Post-Panamax" because they're too wide to fit through the Panama Canal, can carry as many as 275 20-foot containers or up to 137 40-foot containers apiece. The 40-foot containers are the ones usually loaded on trucks or trains.

Every additional crane adds efficiency and a competitive edge to the Port's business. "The biggest benefit is when we have a large vessel in we'll be able to use all four cranes at once, making us 33 percent more efficient while we're unloading the vessel," said Josh Thomas, marine media relations manager for the Port of Portland.

A berth expansion will allow the Port to accommodate two Post-Panamax ships at once and use any combination of the four cranes to load exports and unload imports.

The crane cost $7,862,400, most of which was covered by $7.5 million from the state ConnectOregon transportation enhancement program. The Port is paying the remainder of the purchase price from its general fund. The total project budget, including construction of an electrical substation to power the crane, engineering oversight and inspection, is just under $10.5 million.

Children are invited to operate a miniature version of the crane at a new exhibit at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland.