Pasha Blesses Five Electric Cranes at Honolulu Terminal

The $555 million Kapalama Container Terminal project brings five all-electric Noell gantry cranes to the port.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Transportation

Five tall steel gantry cranes stand in a row along a container terminal quay with stacked shipping containers and calm harbor water beyond green hills. — Pasha Group blessed five all-electric gantry cranes at Honolulu's Kapalama Container Terminal on Thursday, a $555 million project designed to keep cargo moving during grid outages. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Should Hawaii keep spending heavily on major public-private port projects?

Pasha Group held a blessing on Thursday for five all-electric gantry cranes at Kapalama Container Terminal in Honolulu. The cranes traveled 2,600 miles by ocean barge from the Port of Long Beach to Honolulu.

Why it matters

The terminal is designed to keep cargo operations running without the public electrical grid, which could matter during a natural disaster that knocks out city power. The project is intended to improve efficiency, reliability and resilience of cargo operations across Hawaii.

Each of the five Noell gantry cranes weighs 2.7 million pounds and stands 245 feet tall, part of a $555 million terminal project. The source does not state when the cranes will enter full operation.

The players

Pasha Group

Pasha Group is a shipping and logistics company that developed the terminal project with Hawaii Stevedores.

Hawaii Department of Transportation

The Hawaii Department of Transportation is the state agency that partnered on the public-private terminal project.

Hawaii Stevedores, Inc.

Hawaii Stevedores, Inc. is a Honolulu cargo handling company that co-designed and co-built the terminal with Pasha.

The details

The first three cranes arrived in Hawaii on Aug. 19, with the remaining two arriving during the second half of October. The terminal is a public-private partnership between the Hawaii Department of Transportation, Pasha and Hawaii Stevedores, Inc.

Aug. 19, 2026: First three cranes arrive in Hawaii.
Second half of October 2026: Remaining two cranes arrive.
Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026: Blessing held for the five cranes.

Under the Hood

The five Noell gantry cranes are all-electric, a departure from diesel-powered cargo equipment that has long dominated Pacific island ports. Their installation places Honolulu among ports adopting electric cargo handling as part of cleaner port technology efforts.

The terminal is designed to keep cargo moving during a power outage, which could help keep goods flowing to Honolulu residents after a disaster. Cleaner, more efficient port operations may also improve the reliability of shipments to the islands.

The takeaway

Electric port equipment with grid-independent power shows how Hawaii's cargo infrastructure can keep working when the power goes out. Residents and businesses that depend on imported goods have a stake in how well these systems hold up.