Tacoma completes US$32m extension

The extension has added 600 feet (189 m) to the terminal’s existing 2,000 foot berth to support two ZPMC Super post-Panamax container cranes that the terminal added in January 2009. The 273-foot-high cranes can span 24 container rows. WUT is also served by four cranes with an 18-container-wide reach.

“This wharf extension provides WUT with the additional terminal capacity we need for our two largest container cranes, and allows us to handle two container ships at the same time at our facility,” said Y. I. Song, head of Hyundai Merchant Marine America, Inc. “It also gives us greater capacity to handle additional business at this terminal and accommodate the industry’s largest container vessels.”

China is Tacoma’s biggest trading partner, followed by Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Canada. The Port also handles a significant volume of domestic traffic for Alaska, which is carried by Horizon Lines and Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE).