PHOTOS: Giant Ship-to-Shore Cranes Parked Off New York

A heavy lift ship carrying four giant ship-to-shore cranes is at anchor off Brooklyn, New York awaiting the green light to pass below the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and into the Port of New York and New Jersey.

The cranes are destined for APM Terminals’ facility in Port Elizabeth where they will eventually handle ultra-large containerships arriving from Europe and Asia via the Expanded Panama Canal.

The cranes are arriving aboard the heavy lift ship Zhen Hua 20 from Shanghai, China, where they departed a little over two months ago.

Once offloaded, the cranes will be the largest ever installed at the Port of New York and New Jersey and perhaps even the largest on U.S. East Coast.

Before their arrival at Port Elizabeth, the crane booms will need to be lowered over the course of a few days so the vessel can fit below the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge followed by the recently-raised Bayonne Bridge. The vessel will also have to wait for low water, which combined will provide just enough clearance for the cranes to pass safely below the bridges.  

The Port of New York and New Jersey is the busiest port on the US East Coast and third busiest in the United States behind the Los Angeles and Long Beach.

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Updated: February 5, 2026 (Originally published April 24, 2018)

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