3 Months, 37,000 km: A Chinese Cargo Ship's Long Voyage To Deliver Cranes

An 800-foot cargo vessel travelled nearly 19,700 nautical miles to deliver just five giant ship-to-shore cranes. The ship, Zhen Hua 29, departed Shanghai on June 20, heading west through the South China Sea before crossing the Indian Ocean.

After more than three months at sea and crossing three oceans, the vessel docked at the Port of Kingston in Jamaica in October. The cranes it carried, built in China, were destined for ports in Jamaica and the US Gulf Coast.

For decades, such long journeys have been a routine part of global trade. As heavy machinery is manufactured in one part of the world and shipped across continents and installed thousands of kilometers away, the Zhen Hua 29's voyage made it worry about the ultra-long shipping routes, according to The Washington Post.

Both Republican and Democratic governments in the US have raised concerns about relying on cranes made in China, saying it could be risky to depend on them, hinting they may be a threat to national security. US officials say that around 80 per cent of the ship-to-shore cranes at American ports are made by China.

The White House is now seeking US ports to source cranes from countries other than China and revive domestic crane manufacturing. However, that change is not easy. For almost 20 years, Chinese cranes have been the cheapest and easiest option. 

In fact, the fastest way from Shanghai to Mississippi would normally take about a month, sailing across the Pacific Ocean and through the Panama Canal. But the cargo it was carrying made it impossible to pass through the canal.

But the cranes' long arms, known as booms, stick out from the ship's sides, and canal authorities do not allow overhanging cargo that could damage locks and other infrastructure. As a result, the ship had to take the long route around the world.

The trickiest and most dangerous part of the Zhen Hua 29's journey was around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.

The ship's captain, Ty McMichael, said, "The ship stopped off the coast of Mozambique for about two weeks and off the coast of South Africa for another week while it waited for 12-foot seas to subside off the tip of the cape."

"The ship rounded Africa on August 14 and crossed the Atlantic in three weeks, passing by the northern shores of Venezuela before arriving in Gulfport, Miss., on Sept. 11," he added.

After unloading the cranes in Texas and Jamaica, the Zhen Hua 29 was able to take the shorter route home through the Panama Canal, completing its six-month circumnavigation and arriving back in Shanghai on December 3.