Tanjung Priok super port - WorldCargo News Online

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A guaranteeed berth-on-arrival rate of 90% of ship calls is required
yard cranes 16 moves/hour, ALVs
8.8 moves/hour. Even with further
increases in vessel size beyond
Triple-E, the 90% BOA target can
be achieved, added Professor Lee.
New software
The project team does not consider
that the TOS software available today
is suitable for SINGA Port. “We
propose an intelligent management
system that combines the smart
electric power management, the
terminal operating systems (TOS)
and the equipment control system,”
said the professor.
As well as controlling all the
equipment in real time, the
equipment control system will
provide real time information to
the power management system
to bring energy efficiency into
yard planning.
Cost-effective
A big question is whether the design
is economical. One reason
bridge cranes never went beyond
Singapore is the high cost of the
concrete support structures. Supporting
RMGs on an upper level
would be even more expensive,
but this has to be placed in the
Singapore context where the Tuas
Megaport will be built entirely on
reclaimed land.
Below ground level
To reduce construction costs, the
project team proposes an “indented
yard” system where the
lower level is actually below
ground level. This reduces the
amount of sand needed for reclamation.
Cost depends on which
of three yard layout options is selected,
but is estimated at S$642M
(US$841M) per berth.
One issue that does not feature
in the project criteria is the
overall visual impact of the design.
The bridge cranes already have a
dense visual impact, and adding a
second storey makes for an even
taller structure. This might not be
an issue for the new Tuas port, but
would certainly be a problem at
many city ports around the world.
MPA and SMI will now work
with terminal operators in Singapore
to identify elements of the
design to take forward for further
design and testing work. “Depending
on the outcome of these R&D
activities, particular concepts or
technologies could be considered
for future new container terminals,”
said the MPA. ❏
Singapore is quietly confident
that automation will give it an
advantage in the battle for
transhipment traffic as bigger
ships come on stream.
The loss of Maersk and then
Evergreen to Tanjung Pelepas in
2000 not only dented Singapore’s
confidence, but changed the PSA’s
whole approach to technology.
The PSA had spent a fortune developing
overhead bridge cranes
at its Pasir Panjang Terminal, but
when PTP came on the scene it
reverted to RTGs.
The picture today is very different,
even though there is more
competition than ever - PTP
Tanjung Pelepas handled 7.7M
TEU last year (up 2.4%). Westport
and Northport in Klang both have
expansion plans and Indonesia has
not given up on establishing a
transhipment hub near Batam, on
Singapore’s back door. But Singapore
believes it can get a competitive
advantage by leveraging automation
and using software to
make its terminals more efficient.
Shipping lines continually remind
ports that they need a step
Forklift trucks, reachstackers
and terminal equipment
SMV 12-600B
Year 2008, 4500 mm, forkpositioner,
sideshift.
Price € 82.000,-
LINDE C4230TL4
Year 2000, 4 high.
Price € 74.000,-
TERBERG YT182
Year 2007, airsuspension on rear
axle, steel mudguards.
Price € 58.000,-
SMV 16-1200B
Year 2008, 4000 mm, forkpositioner,
sideshift, air condition.
Only 1.250 hours
Price € 95.000,-
LINDE C4535TL5
Year 2004, 5 high, air condition,
hydraulic moveable cabin.
Price € 140.000,-
TERBERG RT222
Year 2007, airsuspension on
rear axle, logical steering ,
central lubrication, engine preheater.
Only 4.200 hours
Price € 83.000,-
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change in productivity to meet the
needs of bigger vessels. Singapore
believes such an improvement is
possible and, through the PSA, the
Maritime Port Authority and
other government-backed institutions,
is investing heavily in software
and systems for automation.
PSA believes software is a competitive
advantage and most of its
applications, including its core
CiTOS TOS, are proprietary.
Robots versus RTGs
PTP is currently adding two
berths with a total length of 720m
that will be equipped with eight
STS cranes and 32 RTGs, a 1:4
ratio. PTP’s first phase (which took
it to 5M TEU) had 24 quay cranes
and 72 RTGs, a 1:3 ratio.
PSA is now equipping Phases
III and IV at PPT with automated
stacking cranes. When completed
PSA will have 15 new 400m
berths with a capacity of 15M
TEU, boosting overall capacity to
50M TEU. PSA is also working
on AGV technology, although this
is unlikely to feature when the first
berths open next year.
Maersk has already announced
its first EEE vessels will call at PTP
and not Singapore. The longer
term question, however, is
whether PTP can deliver the productivity
needed. PTP’s rise was
rapid, but it is now grappling with
maintenance issues as its equipment
ages. In its 2012 annual report,
PTP’s majority owner MMC
Corp notes that “for 2013, the
focus will be on improving the
port’s equipment availability and
reliability to ensure capacity can
be maximised to capture container
demand.” PTP declined to comment,
but why does Maersk still
put so much through Singapore
MMC knows that PTP has to
lift its performance and cannot
count on APM Terminals’ 30%
stake to guarantee all of Maersk’s
business. Commenting on the
RM 1.6B it is spending to increase
PTP’s capacity to 10.5M TEU,
MMC group managing director
Datuk Hasni Harun said the investment
is to “show the company’s
desire” to capture more of
Maersk’s business. “Of the 7M
TEU handled by PTP last year,
about 6M TEU came from
Maersk, a few million TEU of
whose cargo was also handled by
Singapore. If our ports are ready
in terms of capacity and efficiency,
those few million TEU may be
moved to PTP,” he was quoted as
saying in The Malaysian Insider.
PORT DEVELOPMENT
Singapore in pole position
SMV 22-1200A
Year 1998, 5000 mm, forkposition,
sideshift.
Price € 68.000,-
LINDE C4535TL5
Year 2006, 5 high, air condition,
hydraulic moveable cabin,
central lubrication.
Price € 158.000,-
Terberg TT222
Year 2007, airsuspension on
rear axle, logical steering,
central lubrication, engine preheater.
Only 4.000 hours
Price € 66.000,-
ncnielsen
The first berths of Phases III and IV at Pasir Panjang will be ready next year
Northport refocuses
At Port Klang, Northport and
Westport are taking different approaches.
Westport is pushing
ahead aggressively with the completion
of two new berths (CT6
and CT7) and is part way through
the reclamation for CT8 and CT9,
which must be completed by 2014
under its concession agreement.
CT7 will have two 300m berths
and Westport has ordered seven
quay cranes and 42 RTGs for delivery
early next year.
Westport will have a capacity
of 11M TEU when CT7 is completed
and is promoting itself as
ready for 18,000 TEU vessels.
Throughput grew to 6.91M TEU
last year and it is forecasting a further
7% growth this year to 7.4M
TEU. Much of this is driven by
CMA CGM, which now accounts
for 35% of Westport’s business, but
some has come from Northport.
Northport handled 3.08M in
2012 and volumes fell 10% to
675,755TEU in 1Q/20013. CEO
Abi Sofian Abdul Hamid said the
fall is mainly due to weaker exports
and it is unclear whether
these will recover this year.
Northport is pushing on with its
expansion plan and will add a new
350m berth (8a) equipped with
four cranes. This will take its quay
line to 3.4 kms and total capacity
to 5.6M TEU. Plans are now being
made for an additional expansion
to increase that to 7M TEU.
Not too much
Abi Sofian denies that Northport
is adding too much capacity and
said there is a mismatch between
theoretical capacity based on
berths and cranes and what it can
actually achieve. Northport’s water
depth ranges from 11m to 15m
and only when berth 8a is complete
will it be able to offer one
350m berth with 17m of water.
The cost of upgrading the
older berths to handle larger vessels
is not practical, but Northport
has to provide for the tonnage that
lines want to deploy to serve the
cargo base. Northport, he said, is
not in a race to keep up with PSA
and PTP. “We have to create our
own niche for mid-range vessels.”
This leverages Northport’s position
as a balanced port (48% exports,
52% imports) to attract
more regional transhipment business.
There are many smaller ports
developing in Indonesia, and
Northport can offer lines a chance
to get better vessel utilisation by
combining its local cargo with
transhipment moves.
Not convinced
As to whether there will be a productivity
battle in the transhipment
business, Abi Sofian is not
convinced that lines are willing to
pay for more productivity. Their
main criteria at the moment are a
berth on arrival, a fixed departure
time, and a discounted rate, he said.
Northport delivered an average of
28 moves per crane hour last year
and could do more, but this requires
more prime movers than
lines are willing to pay for.
Northport also has a challenge
meeting the needs of its bulk customers.
Some time ago a consultants’
study forecast that bulk volumes
would dwindle as containers
took over, but bulk cargo is actually
growing at 15% annually.
Port Klang also has bulk operations
at Southport, but this has
limited water depth. What Port
Klang really needs, Abi Sofian said,
is a master plan that addresses how
best to grow transhipment business,
provides for bulk cargo and
comes up with a better system for
intra-terminal transfer between
Northport and Westport. ❏
50
May 2013