Conley Terminal cranes arriving

I'm guessing from this story that those ships are coming through the Panama Canal so they are hitting the southern ports first. Anything coming through the Suez Canal should reach Boston first and if we had decent rail service maybe some traffic could be shaved off the top. Looking at a map ships going to Saint John have to dip way down below Nova Scotia and then turn back north. The distance to Boston doesn't seem to be that much further. If much smaller Saint John can do it, Boston can do it.

I know the usual argument is that Boston freight stays local and Massport only serves New England, but there is ample capacity to add to that local traffic now that we can handle bigger ships. It will be really sad after this pier and crane investment if Boston can't attract long haul business especially since the other ports are so congested. A congestion-free port has to be a unique selling opportunity for Massport.

And yes we may have to get a little creative until a rail line actually reaches the port but there are possibilities. For instance Adesa/CP Yard in Framingham could be operational almost immediately. Also there looks like there is room is Westborough Yard to add a few tracks.

Massport has to justify this massive expansion. Maybe they put the cart before the horse here? An unsuccessful "build it and they will come" approach is going to be a very embarrassing and inept move. Did Massport have any commitments before this expansion was planned? Major pieces are now in place. Let's hope Massport succeeds in putting this puzzle together.
 
Conley will always be a niche terminal based on it's footprint and complete reliance on short-haul trucking. The other aspect is that the "seaport" has transitioned from a seaport to a tech business park and luxury condos. I can remember the days of rats scurrying about at Jimmy's Harborside, how things have changed.
 
citydweller said:
Conley will always be a niche terminal based on it's footprint and complete reliance on short-haul trucking.
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Yeah but Saint John is an even smaller footprint niche port with very difficult tides. After seeing what they are doing there I no longer believe that Boston can't grow its long distance reach. Even if stuff has to be scattered out by truck to Worcester, Ayer, Framingham (Adesa), Westborough, etc., until rail is extended directly to Conley.
 
The situation at Saint John is completely different than at Boston. The CPRS has no Atlantic Port presence other than at Saint John (indirectly through the Irving Railroads), so that was their only option for developing business with the shipping lines. CSX and NS, who would be the potential rail carriers doing business with the Port of Boston, already have multiple East Coast options in place so they have zero incentive to try and develop business at Boston. In addition, there is no way Boston can compete with the likes of NY/NJ, Norfolk or Savanah when there needs to be an hour plus dray just to get to the nearest Intermodal terminal, not to mention other institutional challenges that the port faces.
 
Whatever happened to talk of developing NB/FR for shipping?
 
If you get a recent Conley satellite image, you can see how massive these are compared to the older models:

New Cranes.jpg
 
Perhaps is the angle of the satellite image but it looks like they need to extend the loading/unloading area further West. Has anyone seen those supersize container ships arrive yet?
 
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citydweller said:
Has another seen those supersize container ships arrive yet?
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The first larger/newer generation ship(the Ever Fortune) is on the schedule for 1/12. Also marks the return of Evergreen after a twoish month hiatus.

https://www.massport.com/conley-terminal/vessel-schedule/

Some info and pics of the ship itself.

baltimoreshipspotting.com

Ever Fortune Comes to Baltimore December 17, 2020

This 334x48m (1096x157ft) Panama flagged container ship was built in 2020 by Samsung Heavy Industries in Goeje, South Korea and owned by Evergreen Line according to this very detailed press release…
baltimoreshipspotting.com baltimoreshipspotting.com
 
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kmp1284 said:
Looks like MSC has launched a Boston Express route from Antwerp in addition to their usual service out of Sines in Portugal. Still comparatively small ships though.

https://www.massport.com/conley-terminal/vessel-schedule
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I was scrolling some Massport board minutes (slide 71 - https://www.massport.com/media/edyfyaay/website_march-board-meeting_03-17-22.pdf), and noticed they've also picked up a bi-weekly SE Asia service from "ZIM". Vietnam + Southern China (Yantian) stops.

Doesn't look like particularly big ships on the line so far from this week's vessel schedule, but still notable.
 
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