SEEN OFF WEST SEATTLE: New port cranes, Tacoma-bound

| Seen at sea | West Seattle news

Thanks for the tip and photo! That’s the Zhen Hua 23 passing West Seattle, carrying four China-built port cranes southward. Usually there’s a big advance alert about this kind of thing, but so far all we’ve found is that the Zhen Hua 23 is on Monday’s schedule to dock at the Port of Tacoma’s WUT (Washington United Terminals) terminal. (Terminal 5 in West Seattle is due to get cranes for the second modernized berth, but that’s still some months away.)

ADDED: Here’s the WUT announcement from when these cranes were ordered.

Ferns June 23, 2023 (7:48 pm)

Near La Rustica now…

Aria June 23, 2023 (8:01 pm)

Concerned June 23, 2023 (9:46 pm)

Hm. Maybe the US can’t produce their own? Serious comment. Not sarcasm.

WSB June 23, 2023 (10:07 pm)

We had that discussion here in 2021:
https://westseattleblog.com/2021/05/followup-terminal-5s-new-cranes-are-on-their-way/#comments
The U.S. hasn’t made port cranes in decades. The only alternative to China is a company in Finland.

Concerned Citizen June 23, 2023 (10:20 pm)

If that is true, as a Fed, I would buy from Finland before China, according to the FAR and DFARS. But maybe WA state is exempt? Weird.

Rhonda June 24, 2023 (2:00 am)

There are many thousands of U.S. companies with factories in China.
Seth June 25, 2023 (10:09 am)

Its not like an engineer is not gonna sign off on the quality and cranes have like 0 cybersecurity risk so idk why you think its bad to do business with china. If anything open trade keeps the peace.

CARGUY June 23, 2023 (11:32 pm)

It is a worldwide economy, and usually the lowest cost wins. These could be Konecranes built in China, but is a Finnish company. No idea though

Sillygoose June 24, 2023 (8:03 am)

What an eeerie sight…..

Bill June 24, 2023 (8:12 am)

Still astounds me that it is cheaper to build them in China and ship them intact to their destination, than it is to build them here. I remember when the port of Seattle got some back in the mid 2000s and I was as amazed then as I am now. Something about this world economy has to be broken.

MD June 26, 2023 (10:34 am)

Ship has docked at Washington United Terminal (WUT) in the Port of Tacoma. If you look closely at the cranes you will see a WUT logo on them. Must be a crane upgrade. Had not seen anything in the news about this previously.

WSB June 26, 2023 (10:38 am)

Yes, if you follow the links in the story, the announcement I finally found was from WUT (after I noted via the shipping schedule that the ship was headed for that terminal). I am surprised NWSA didn’t announce their impending arrival – the first crane arrival at Terminal 5 here, for example, was a big deal! I’m following up with them today, primarily to ask for the latest info on when the next set of cranes is due here – TR

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