This paper presents a scheme for designing a state observer for container cranes. If the system is completely observable with a given set of outputs, then it is possible to determine the states that are not directly measured. We consider the reduced-order states observer with only trolley position detection and with trolley position and container angle detection. The gain matrix of the each state observer is adjusted using a RCGAs. A set of simulation works is carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.