From the Star-Ledger: "Kenny Picinich, 34, is just one of about 20 crane operator at Global Terminal in Bayonne. The job, one of the most dangerous in his field, requires exceptional hand-eye coordination."
The cranes are just part of a broader strategy to ensure the region’s port, which generates an estimated $36 billion in annual business activity, is ready after the widening of the Panama Canal is completed in 2014.
In December, the Port Authority announced it finally settled on a way to fix the Bayonne Bridge’s low clearance, which had been hindering massive new container ships from sailing the Kill Van Kull waterway. The agency has also begun work on a $600 million ship-to-rail container facility in Jersey City, which will more than double the port region’s annual rail capacity to 1 million containers.
“Once the bridge is raised and the canal is widened, the trade will be able to bring bigger vessels,” said Joe Alagna, vice president of U.S. sales for China Shipping.