This paper investigates the relationship between the fleet-angle of the hoisting rope and the swaying and pitching angles of a cargo in container cranes. It is found that for a given disturbance, when the fleet-angle is large, the sway Angle becomes smaller, but the pitching angle becomes larger. Therefore, for a quick suppression of a sway motion, it is desirable to have a large fleet-angle. The compatibility and bifurcation conditions, regarding instability, are characterized.