Highly trained master riggers moved 14 aluminum crew boats through the heavy lift and specialty cargo berth at JAXPORT’s Blount Island Marine Terminal, one of the nation’s highest weight-bearing capacity docks. The boats, which are 45-feet in length and weigh approximately 25,000 lbs each, sailed to JAXPORT on the St. Johns River from St. Johns Ship Building, a manufacturing facility in Palatka, Fla. Workers employed by stevedoring company Portus lifted each boat from the river before loading them one at a time onto the Thorco Shipping general cargo vessel Thorco Copenhagen. The crew boats are being sent to Maracaibo, Venezuela where they will be used to transport oil refinery employees to and from offshore oil rigs. St. Johns Ship Building is a full service ship building and marine repair company specializing in both new construction and repair of a wide variety of commercial vessels. The company serves both domestic and international customers. The heavy lift cargo berth at JAXPORT’s Blount Island Marine Terminal ranks as one of the nation’s highest weight-bearing capacity docks, offering up to 1,800 pounds per square foot of load capacity with rail capability up to 78 kips per axle for heavy cargo.