The Port of Oswego (POA) has been awarded USD754,000 toward the cost of a reachstacker as part of its short sea shipping project from the USDOT America’s Marine Highway Projects.

The harbour was designated in 2019 as a Marine Highway, one of only 32 in the United States, to expand its reach into the national containerised cargo movement and provide a more environmentally sustainable, lower-cost alternative to trucking raw materials, from agricultural products, to project cargo, heavy lift, petroleum products, and international containerised cargo movement.

William Scriber, POA executive director and CEO, says: “As the only port in New York State on Lake Ontario, we see the growth of our services as a vital boost to not only the local economy but the state of New York.”

Part of the Port’s Vision 2030 Comprehensive Plan is to create a short sea shipping project on Lake Ontario which will have direct connections to other major ports in the Great Lakes. One of the key components identified to begin this service was the purchase of a high reachstacker needed to move containers, according to Scriber.

“The Port of Oswego is making major strides in expanding services for New York on Lake Ontario. We look to add services that will move cargo in a cost-effective way and which will also help to reduce on-road truck trips and ease the carbon footprint,” he says.

POA has not yet released details of its planned purchase, nor of its tender process.