Two new ship-to-shore cranes arrived on 16 March 2026 at the Psa Sech container terminal in the port of Genoa aboard the vessel Zhen Hua 23. They were built by the Chinese company Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Company Limited (Zpmc) as part of the development programme for the terminal operated by Psa Italy, with an investment of more than €20 million. The cranes left the Changxing Base shipyard in December 2025 and were designed with technical specifications tailored to the Sech terminal’s infrastructure. According to Psa Italy, the project brings forward part of the investment plan scheduled through to 2047 and is intended to strengthen the operational role of the Genoa port in container traffic.
As explained by Psa Italy chief executive Roberto Ferrari, the arrival of the new cranes marks an important step for the terminal. Ferrari noted that the equipment anticipates the long-term investment plan and reinforces Sech’s role as a historic terminal in the port of Genoa, second in importance, size and container handling capacity after Psa Genova Pra’. The new cranes also retain the blue colour that has characterised the terminal’s profile in the city port for more than 30 years.
From a technical perspective, the new cranes offer greater dimensions and capacity than the previous structures. Their total height reaches 125 metres, around 25 metres higher than the cranes currently in operation at the terminal. Outreach has increased from 50 to 60 metres, enabling the handling of larger vessels. Lifting capacity has also been enhanced. The new cranes can handle up to 65 tonnes under spreader in twin-lift mode, compared with 45 tonnes for the previous equipment. The system also provides a lifting height of 48 metres from the ground.
The new equipment incorporates several technological solutions for operational management. These include container identification systems based on optical character recognition, enabling the automatic recognition of handled units. The system also features digital detection of truck positions during ship unloading operations and scanning of the vessel profile alongside the quay. The design required targeted engineering work to adapt the equipment to the characteristics of the terminal, whose infrastructure dates back more than 30 years. Ferrari explained that the cranes were developed with a high level of customisation, with the aim of integrating them with existing structures and improving the organisation of quay operations.
Unloading operations for the cranes are expected to take around one week. This will be followed by the engineering and installation activities required to bring the equipment into service. Operations are scheduled to begin from June 2026. The arrival of the new cranes forms part of the modernisation programme for the Psa Sech terminal, announced in 2023 on the occasion of the terminal’s 30th anniversary.
