February 17, 2000 : A new 54.88 metre (180 foot) tall container crane made a spectacular arrival at Fraser River Port today. The giant blue crane on the barge Esprit, squeezed under the Alex Fraser Bridge with just four metres of room between the tip of the crane and the girders of the bridge. Loaded sideways on the barge with its boom fully extended, the 1,000 tonne crane is 110 metres (360 feet) wide. All marine traffic moved under special Notice to Shipping while the crane was on the Fraser.

The crane is now alongside its permanent home, Fraser Surrey Docks in Surrey. Over the next two days, after intensive preparatory work, the crane will be slid on giant teflon pads off the barge onto Berth 9 at Fraser Surrey Docks and then carefully lowered onto container crane rails.

Rick Pearce, president and CEO of the Fraser River Port Authority (Fraser River Port) said, “Our new container crane reflects our commitment to provide the best terminals and equipment to our customers.” Pearce noted Fraser River Port had just completed a record year, saying “We handled 25.6 million tonnes of domestic and international traffic in 1999.” Container traffic jumped 28% to 31,921 TEU and the port hosted 564 deepsea ship calls.

A 1998 economic impact study showed Fraser River Port handled $9.2 billion worth of goods each year contributing $1.4 billion to Canada’s GDP and sustaining more than 24,000 jobs in Canada.

Purchase of the crane and its ancillary equipment plus installation of the crane rails on the dock is a $10 million project. Berth 9 at Fraser Surrey Docks is a 244 metre addition to the dock, part of a $19 million expansion program which was completed in December 1996. The arrival of the new crane allows the port to fully integrate the container handling capabilities of Berths 7 and 8 with Berth 9.

Barry Heselgrave, president of Fraser Surrey Docks Ltd. said, “The new container crane gives our terminal added flexibility to meet the rapid growth in the container trades.”

The “Hanjung” model container crane was built by Korea Heavy Industries & Construction Co. Ltd. and shipped fully erected from Ulsan, Korea. The high-speed crane has a 50-tonne capacity.

Following an extensive testing and training period, the “Hanjung” container crane will enter service in April working alongside Fraser River Port’s two existing “Paceco” container cranes.

For further information contact:

Raija Orava
Manager,  Public Affairs
Fraser River Port Authority
Tel. (604) 524-6655