They are among the biggest of their kind in the world and they have arrived at London Gateway: the first three of the port’s 138-metre high quay cranes have arrived from China with a further two due to set sail soon.

How large? The cranes are taller than the London Eye, weigh 1,848 tons each, will reach across 25 rows of containers on a vessel and can lift up to 80 tons at a time.

Why so large? London Gateway will be handling the world’s largest container ships, operated by shipping lines to provide economies of scale and reduce environmental impact on the main shipping trade lanes. That translates directly into lower cost and lower carbon supply chains for retailers and other cargo owners.

And the future? The 25-box outreach takes the cranes beyond the width of the world’s largest container ship. “The size of the cranes future-proofs the port, allowing London Gateway to handle the next generation of ultra large container ships,” says London Gateway operations director Tim Halhead. “These cranes are the most advanced in the industry, designed and built to deliver a reliable and consistently high level of productivity.”

Manufactured in Shanghai by ZPMC, the cranes are semi-automated for quick and efficient handling. They will be connected directly to the Terminal Operating System, which tracks the containers and sends work orders to the crane operator. The cranes have also already been put through their paces – they were fully pre-commissioned and moving boxes in Shanghai. “All the testing was done, and then they were disconnected ready for shipping,” says London Gateway engineering director Andrew Bowen. “When the cranes arrive, ZPMC technicians will be onsite ready to re-commission them. Meanwhile, we are already training our crane operators on our unique simulator, so they will be more than ready to step up to the job.”

London Gateway will open with five quay cranes on the first berth.