The 10,062 TEU Zim Antwerp successfully passed under the bridge recently, headed for Maher Terminals in Elizabeth without incident. It followed three Maersk ships of about 10,100 TEU - two of which made the trip twice - that sailed under the bridge on their way to Port Newark Container Terminal in Newark, Chris Garabino, the terminal's vice president of operations said.
The Zim Antwerp passed through the Panama Canal en route from Asia with about 8,000 containers, many of which were removed for transshipment at Kingston, Jamaica. It also stopped at Savannah, Charleston, and Norfolk before coming to back New York-New Jersey, visiting Halifax before heading back through the canal to Asia.
The ship, accompanied by four tugs, maneuvered without event under the bridge and around the right-hand turn into Newark Bay, said Captain Paniec Piotr Zbigniew. "It's not a straight line, it's really tricky," he added. "You must do this with precision."
Ports along the US East Coast are closely watching the bridge opening, believing that with the height restriction removed more large vessels will come through the expanded Panama Canal - opened a year ago - and along the coast to stop at the major New York-New Jersey terminals.
New York-New Jersey has prepared for the new era with extensive improvements. Port terminal operators have spent about US$2 billion on upgrades and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and federal government have spent $4.7 billion on dredging, rail access, and other projects, including $1.6 billion toward raising the Bayonne Bridge.
So far, those preparations have been little tested by the larger ship arrivals.
Assistant director of the port authority's port department, Beth Rooney, said the port expects the size and number of big ships to increase soon. "We are beginning to see more ships in the 10,000 TEU range," she said. "And over the course of the next couple of months they will get progressively larger, leading up to what we believe will be our first 14,000 TEU ship in the fall."
The Zim Antwerp passed through the Panama Canal en route from Asia with about 8,000 containers, many of which were removed for transshipment at Kingston, Jamaica. It also stopped at Savannah, Charleston, and Norfolk before coming to back New York-New Jersey, visiting Halifax before heading back through the canal to Asia.
The ship, accompanied by four tugs, maneuvered without event under the bridge and around the right-hand turn into Newark Bay, said Captain Paniec Piotr Zbigniew. "It's not a straight line, it's really tricky," he added. "You must do this with precision."
Ports along the US East Coast are closely watching the bridge opening, believing that with the height restriction removed more large vessels will come through the expanded Panama Canal - opened a year ago - and along the coast to stop at the major New York-New Jersey terminals.
New York-New Jersey has prepared for the new era with extensive improvements. Port terminal operators have spent about US$2 billion on upgrades and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and federal government have spent $4.7 billion on dredging, rail access, and other projects, including $1.6 billion toward raising the Bayonne Bridge.
So far, those preparations have been little tested by the larger ship arrivals.
Assistant director of the port authority's port department, Beth Rooney, said the port expects the size and number of big ships to increase soon. "We are beginning to see more ships in the 10,000 TEU range," she said. "And over the course of the next couple of months they will get progressively larger, leading up to what we believe will be our first 14,000 TEU ship in the fall."