By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

THE Port Authority of Guam’s newly purchased mobile harbor crane will improve the seaport’s ability to handle shipments arriving on island, Gov. Felix P. Camacho said yesterday as he inspected the crane which arrived last Sunday.
The crane was purchased for $3.6 million from the Jurong Port in Singapore. According to the governor’s office, PAG was able to purchase the crane using its own funds.
“As our island prepares for tremendous growth, we are ensuring that our seaport is equipped with the necessary infrastructure to support this growth,” Camacho said as he observed the off-loading of the crane.
The vendor and manufacturer, Leibherr, has provided personnel to re-assemble the 104-ton crane, with the re-assembly work expected to take approximately seven days.
The governor has long pushed for the replacement of the port’s aging gantry cranes as the business sector expressed fears that commerce on Guam might be paralyzed if one of the cranes breaks down.
With the arrival of the mobile crane, the port expects the strain on its existing cranes to ease off.
According to PAG, the mobile crane will be used to handle the smaller feeder vessels, thus enabling the older cranes to focus on the bigger ships and increasing their turnaround times.
The mobile crane also serves as an interim replacement for Gantry Crane 1, which was decommissioned by the port last March.
The port has opened up bidding for the procurement of a larger fixed crane to replace Gantry Crane 1.
According to PAG public information officer Mike Henderson, cargo handling operations will not be disrupted by the reassembly of the mobile crane because the port has set aside a special staging area for the work.