Caption: RTG cranes transiting the Houston Ship Channel in 2018.

The Port Commission in June awarded a contract for nine new diesel electric container yard cranes for Port Houston’s Bayport Container Terminal.

The yard cranes are needed for the facility to support projected growth in import and export volume growth and maintain the highest levels of service to industry partners, including vessel productivity and truck turn times. The cranes are powered by hybrid drives with battery packs charged by a small diesel engine and are equipped with the latest technology in the container shipping industry.

The contract for the equipment was awarded to Konecranes Finland Corp., which was selected after the request for proposals process was completed. The cranes will provide support to the 50-acre expansion of Container Yard 7. Construction is ongoing and scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2020. Opened in 2007, the Bayport terminal is about 60 percent complete.

While construction to expand Bayport continues, Port Houston’s additional container terminal, Barbours Cut, continues to be modernized. A $287 million capital plan for 2019 is primarily focused on container yard and wharf renovation.