Posted on May 13, 2026
By Gavin Stone
The Port of Virginia is adding four new low-profile ship-to-shore cranes to the northern portion of Norfolk International Terminals this summer that more easily comply with the Navy’s airspace restrictions in the area as part of the port’s ongoing renovations.
The new cranes, made by ZPMC, stand 245 feet tall. That’s just over half the height of the latest models of the traditional boom-up cranes that make up the rest across the port, and have the same lift height and reach capabilities, according to port spokesperson Joe Harris.
The new cranes are the largest and heaviest low-profile cranes in the world, Harris said in an email. Despite their weight — about twice that of the boom-up cranes — they can move from fully-retracted to fully-extended in about 3 minutes compared with the 5-6 minutes it takes for the boom-up cranes to move fully up and down, according to Harris. The low-profile cranes have roughly the same hoist, trolley, and gantry speeds as traditional cranes.
“These (cranes) were made unique for us and unique for Virginia,” McCoy said. “They were made to retract back instead of boom-up … because our Navy partners right next door have a flight path that we have to be cognizant of.”
The current four boom-up cranes on the northern portion of NIT have had to be kept below their peak height during their 10-plus years of operations, Harris explained. While there hasn’t been any specific issue with the boom-up cranes, their height on the north side has “always been a concern,” Harris said.
“There was no reason to buy another set of boom-up cranes when you can’t boom them all the way up,” he said. “It just became apparent that a better crane would be the low-profile crane.”
The new cranes cost $16.5 million each and are included in the port’s ongoing $1.4 billion Gateway Investment Program.
They will be in operation by this summer, according to Harris.
