They sailed in, special delivery, by way of Shanghai underneath the Skyway Bridge.
"This is part of Tampa Bay's future,” said CEO Port Tampa Bay Paul Anderson.
The twin cranes are about to hoist Port Tampa Bay to a new level.
"They're able to move up and down these docks to work ships,” said Anderson.
The new cranes will replace two older ones built in 1970 and once they're in, they'll be able to lift double the amount of cargo.
The cranes can reach bigger cargo ships, twice the size of the ones the Port handles now. $24 million in port and state funding will help lure new shipping companies and more important new jobs.
"It means that we're going to bring new companies that cannot currently bring their ships here and it's going to mean new job opportunities for the next two, five, fifteen, twenty years,” said Anderson.
New jobs include longshore men and way beyond what's unloaded here at the port.
"It's truckers. It's warehouse men. It's logistics companies-- 3 PL's,” said Doug Wray, VP Commercial Ports America."
Now Tampa has the muscle to convince companies filling up warehouses in our backyard and along the I-4 corridor to ship goods here instead of out of state.
"I think it means that you're going to get cargo delivered closer to the final destination meaning like supply places like Amazon or Rooms to Go,” said Wray.
Which means customers like you will get goods faster.
"As the Panama Canal ties in, ties in real big to Tampa, I think it's going to help us expand,” said Wray.
