Story Photos
 The Port of Longview's new mobile harbor crane dwarfs people who came for a look after Monday's dedication ceremony. Bill Wagner / The Daily News
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Port's new harbor crane ready to move some freight
Monday, August 18, 2008 11:57 PM PDT
By Erik Olson
Printable version
E-mail this articleThe Port of Longview’s new mobile harbor crane should be ready to unload cargo next month, and local officials expressed excitement about the $4.7 million crane at a dedication ceremony Monday morning.
“It will mean an increase in the commerce in our local economy,” said Ted Sprague, executive director of the Cowlitz Economic Development Council.
The 560-ton crane arrived at the port from Austria at the beginning of July in about 50 pieces. It was assembled later in the month. Twenty-three longshoremen are undergoing five-day training sessions to learn to operate the crane, said Doug Averett, the port’s director of operations.
The crane will play a big role in the port’s growing wind-energy business, unloading the giant turbines and wind blades. In the past, the port rented a crane to unload that heavy equipment at its Berths 6, 7 and 8.
Liebherr, the Austrian manufacturer, is one of two companies in the world that build this type of crane, Port Commissioner Darrold Dietz said.
“The cost was like a good steak — about $4.69 a pound,” Dietz said of the 1.1 million pound crane.
The port already has an older, stationary crane for smaller cargo, but the new mobile crane is bigger and can move to different berths at the speed of a slow walk. It’s one of the largest capital improvements at the port in the last decade, and it was paid for by port revenues.
Filling the crane’s 3,500 gallon gas tank, repairing its 88 tires and performing regular maintenance will boost local businesses at a time when Cowlitz County’s unemployment rate is among the highest in the state, Sprague said.
Port commissioners approved the purchase of the crane in December. Its boom can reach 230 feet in the air, and the crane can lift 100 metric tons from a distance of 150 feet.
After the dedication ceremony, port officials allowed some of the attendees to climb to the top of the crane and get a bird’s-eye view of the port property. Southwest Washington Congressman Brian Baird gave the keynote speech and made the climb to the top. He credited the port for a big step forward in the current slow economy.
“It is a sign of confidence, competence and boldness in the local community that they are willing to make this investment,” Baird said.
Billy Hill wrote on Aug 19, 2008 1:18 AM:
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