Quay Crane

A quay crane (ship-to-shore or STS gantry crane) is the rail-mounted dockside gantry that loads and discharges containers between a berthed vessel and the quay. Its boom reaches across the ship’s beam, and a trolley-mounted spreader lifts containers; outreach is rated in container rows across, with modern post-Panamax and megamax units spanning 22 to 25 rows. Quay-crane productivity, measured in moves per hour, sets a container terminal’s berth throughput and is a key input to vessel turnaround time.