Boston port gets new cranes

Boston port gets new cranes    The Massachusetts Port Authority said Conley Container Terminal in South Boston is acquiring a pair of pre-owned low-profile ship-to-shore cranes and four rubber-tired gantry yard cranes from the Port of Oakland in California.
   Purchase of the cranes for $15 million will increase the total number of dockside cranes at Conley Terminal to six and rubber-tired gantry cranes to 12.
   The cranes began what is a month-long journey from Oakland to Boston by barge on Monday.
   'Worldwide cargo is expected to double by 2020 and more freight will be coming through the Panama and Suez canals destined for the East Coast. The Port of Boston will be prepared to handle these larger ships and increased volume,' said Mike Leone, Massport's port director.
   'The new cranes bring increased efficiency and flexibility by allowing us to work two vessels simultaneously, or one with all six cranes so we can get goods on and off faster and into the hands of our customers and consumers sooner,” he added.
   Massport said it expects bigger ships to call Boston when the expansion of the Panama Canal is completed in 2014.