A container loading C hook is a crane attachment built around the one dimension that decides whether container stuffing works at all: the 2338 mm wide by 2280 mm high door opening of a standard ISO box, through which every coil, pipe bundle or slab has to pass horizontally and then travel up to 12 metres to the nose of the container.
Why a standard C hook does not fit
A standard C hook is designed to lift a coil from above and set it on a saddle or a truck bed. Its upright and counterweight sit well above the coil, which is no problem under an open sky and a complete obstacle under a container roof. Even a low-profile hook has to get the crane hook, the sling and the hook body under a roof 2280 mm off the floor while carrying a coil that may be 1500 mm in diameter, and then reach 6 or 12 metres inside. The container loading C hook is built the other way round: the upright is slim so hook and load clear the door frame together, and the arm is long so the crane hook stays outside the box while the load goes to the nose.
One frame, three arms
The constraint belongs to the container, not the cargo, so one machine covers coils, pipe bundles, slabs and plates, panel stock and crated goods. Only the arm changes. A single C arm takes coils on the bore, 508 to 762 mm ID as standard. A twin fork takes slabs, plates and palletised or crated cargo. A cradle arm takes pipe bundles and loose pipe, cupping the bundle so it cannot roll. The photographs on the product page show all three on the same frame.
Capacity and reach
Capacity is set by the container's payload rather than by the crane, typically 5 to 30 ton, and the reach to suit a 20ft box (5.9 m internal) or a 40ft (12.0 m). A longer arm costs dead weight and demands a stiffer upright, so a yard that only ever stuffs 20ft boxes should not buy 40ft reach. As with any lifting attachment, the hook is proof tested and marked to ANSI/ASME B30.20; our post on SWL and proof load testing explains what the certificate covers.
Stuffing practice
Coils go in eye-to-door on dunnage with the first coil at the nose, chocked and lashed before the next is placed. Bundles go in on bearers so the cradle arm can be withdrawn. A yard doing both usually keeps a second arm rather than a second hook, since the frame is the expensive part and an arm change takes minutes. Tell us what you stuff and which boxes and we will quote the frame and arms together. The related question of lifting two coils at once is covered in C hook variants for paired and bundled loads.
Frequently asked questions
What size coil fits through a container door?
A coil up to about 1500 mm OD and 2000 mm wide can be placed eye-to-door, allowing for the hook body above it and dunnage below. Larger coils go in eye-to-sky on a different fixture or are shipped break-bulk.
Can the same hook unload the container at the other end?
Yes. De-stuffing uses the same hook and arm, and receiving yards buy it for that purpose. The crane at the receiving end sets the capacity actually usable.
Does the hook need a special crane?
No. Any overhead or gantry crane with the capacity for hook plus load will do; what matters is enough hook height to lift the loaded hook over the container sill and enough long-travel to reach the nose.
Export Availability
Overseas buyers are usually the ones de-stuffing the box, so the same hook is quoted with the arm form matched to what arrives, coils on a single arm or pipe bundles on a cradle, and to the crane at the receiving yard. The hook itself fits inside a 40ft container for its own voyage, and the ANSI/ASME B30.20 test certificate travels with it.
Manufactured at Pragya's Pithampur (Indore) works and exported to steel mills worldwide — 22+ countries across 5 continents to date. Every export order ships with mill test certificates, ocean-freight packing, and full customs documentation, quoted FOB or CIF.
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