For about 30 minutes early Saturday morning the Delaware Memorial Bridge will close as the heavy lift ship, Zhen Hua 16, with two large container cranes on deck, passes beneath it.  The distance from the water level to the top of the cranes is 188 feet, 5 inches which will require the ship to arrive at low tide. Even so, the cranes are expected to clear the bridge with a clearance of only between 4′ and 9′. The cranes on the Zhen Hua 16 are said to be the tallest cargo load ever to pass under the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

The cranes are bound for Philadelphia’s Packer Avenue Marine Terminal. They are the first of a next-generation container crane capable of loading and unloading the new generation of post-Panamax ships. The larger container ships will be calling on the US East Coast following the expansion of the Panama Canal. The cranes were manufactured by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Co.