Snip went the red ribbon and up went the cargo container on Wednesday as Port Everglades officials, partners and elected officials celebrated three new Super Post-Panamax container gantry cranes going into service.

The Super Post-Panamax cranes, measuring 175-foot (53 meters) high, are expected to help the South Florida port reach record efficiency levels. Currently, the port ranks in the top 25% of ports worldwide for operational efficiency, according to the World Bank’s latest Container Port Performance Index.

The Super Post-Panamax cranes can reach farther and handle a heavier load, particularly moving containers stacked eight high from a ship’s deck and can reach 22 containers across the ship's deck, compared to the port’s seven Post-Panamax cranes that are 151-feet (46 meters) high and limited to containers stacked six high and reaching across 16 containers. Port Everglades now has a total of container cranes to 13 container gantry cranes (six are Super Post-Panamax and seven are Post Panamax) and one mobile harbor crane.

“With the commissioning of the new cranes, our historic $471 million project for the Southport Turning Notch Extension is nearly complete,” said Glenn Wiltshire, Acting Director of Port Everglades. “However, we’re not here to just celebrate cranes,” he said. “We applaud the investment that our Board of County Commissioners made throughout the years to build up the port’s infrastructure, which benefits the men and women who work these docks and the regional economy.”

On hand to mark the occasion were representatives from Broward County government, the port’s terminal operators, cargo labor force, and maritime and business advocacy groups, among others.

The ceremony also included a moment of reflection for the six people who lost their lives in the Port of Baltimore bridge collapse and the countless others at the port and in the community who are affected.