Crane Loads—Triple E Class and Beyond

Container ships, and the cranes that service them, keep getting bigger. That makes it difficult to set crane design loads for a wharf that is typically designed to last at least 50 years. In fact, some wharves designed within the last 15 to 20 years are already having their capacities approached by cranes built for Triple E ships. In this paper, Erik Soderberg, Leah Olson, and Jonathan Hsieh look at how crane loads have grown and how possible future crane designs could affect them, helping owners avoid premature and expensive wharf strengthening.