Automation's Next Step

AUTOMATION & OPTIMIZATION
AUTOMATION IN ASIA AND AUSTRALIA
During the development of segregated
waterside and landside operational layouts
in Europe and the USA, two alternative
automated layouts have been successfully
implemented and trialled in Asia and
Oceania. The most popular automated
terminal design in Asia has been the sideloading,
semi-autonomous Cantilevered
Automatic Rail Mounted Gantry Cranes
(CARMG). Meanwhile, in Australia, Patrick
Terminals has successfully implemented
Automatic Straddle Carrier operations
at its Port Botany Sydney and Fisherman
Island Brisbane facilities.
The first automated terminal operation
developed outside of Europe was at the
Port of Singapore (PSA), where the focus
was on building denser yard stacks with
a semi-automated yard. In 2000, PSA
unveiled the first terminal at its newest
Pasir Panjang facility, which featured Over
Head Bridge Cranes (OHBC) capable of
stacking higher than traditional cranes..
Pasir Panjang primarily operates with
manned internal tractor-trailers today,
exchanging containers at bays along
the block (similar to side-loading RTG
operations). In the 2010s, PSA added
additional capacity to Pasir Panjang with
a total of six terminals; terminals four
through six feature additional semiautomated
CARMG cranes on a relatively
large footprint supporting over 60 QCs.
In the mid-to-late 2000’s, ports in
Japan, Taiwan, and Korea all successfully
implemented CARMG yard operations,
where manned internal trucks interchange
with remotely controlled CARMG yard
cranes. This type of operation is similar to
RTG operations, where manned internal
tractor-trailer drive to the designated
yard bay to exchange, also known as sideloading
automated operations.
For most of the sites using side-loading
automated cranes in Asia, automated
horizontal transport with AGVs has not
been the primary goal and has proven
difficult to implement given the layout
constraints. However, AGVs have been
deployed at the Tobishima Container Berth
(TCB) facility in Nagoya, Japan where the
operating mode uses semi-autonomous
remote controlled RTGs with AGVs and
manned external trucks. The AGVs and
manned external trucks are required to
intersect because of the traditional RTG
layout, which requires gated intersections
to ensure safety.
One of the exciting developments in
the past five years has been the rise of
automated terminals in China. The Ports
of Shanghai and Qingdao have both
recently opened some of the largest,
fully-automated terminals in the world. In
2017, the Port of Qingdao deployed a fullyautomated
terminal with a segregated ASC
end-loading layout using Lift AGVs (L-AGVs).
L-AGVs were first used at the Maasvlakte II
developments in Rotterdam and support
decoupled transport with the waterside ASC
and L-AGVs. Qingdao’s automated terminal
has achieved some of the highest QC rates
recorded by an automated terminal, with a
focus on helping vessels achieving over 40
gross moves per hour.
THE FUTURE OF AUTOMATED TERMINALS
There will continue to be a wide range of
solutions that terminal operators adopt
when implementing terminal automation.
The location, size, cargo flow, and labour
constraints of a particular facility are all
factors that contribute to how and when
terminals modernise.
A few key trends emerge after review
of existing and upcoming automated
terminal projects:
1. The segregated end-loading ASC layout
is currently most popular to enable
full automation and/or decoupled
horizontal transport. It comes with the
cleanest approach to safety. On the
flipside, every import/export container
has to travel through the entire yard
block which creates more ASC crane
movements.
2. Preference for an alternative CARMG
operation in Asian ports of Singapore,
South Korea and Taiwan. Similar to RTG
operation, there is a significant benefit
due to the reduced need for yard
crane movements. However, horizontal
transportation for land and waterside
moves is mixed and, therefore, more
sophisticated safety solutions are
required.
3. Interest for less dense automated
straddle carrier operations in Australia
(two operational), New Zealand,
European and US ports (all with
automated straddle carrier projects
underway). While this model needs
more yard space, it is simpler in
nature since no handshake is required
between yard cranes and horizontal
transportation.
4. Growth in RTG brownfield automated
terminal conversions will explode in
the coming years. Roughly 60% of the
container handling systems throughout
Asia utilise RTGs. We see the main
reason for this growth because no
radical layout and operational changes
are required combined with the fact
that more and more safety solutions are
becoming available for mixing manned
and automated equipment. A stepwise
approach is available for automating
RTGs which allows for an easy start that
is expandable to more advanced levels
of automation.
5. Autonomous truck technology is
currently being tested for internal and
external container transport. Recent
advancements of AI are enabling
autonomous vehicles, including
autonomous trucks. This will lead to
less complexity when mixing automated
waterside horizontal transportation
with manned landside operations.
Further, due to the much larger
demand in autonomous trucks globally,
we eventually expect a benefit over
AGVs or automated straddles from an
investment cost perspective.
At Navis we are investing in smart
solutions for each of these trends at different
customer sites around the world because
every terminal has specific priorities and
preferences when modernizing. We also
offer to help manual terminals with their
modernization planning, e.g. by analysing
pros and cons of the various available
automation options operationally and
also how they affect IT systems and the
integration between them.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Johannes Leholm is an automation
architect at Navis where he works with
logistics providers to identify the most
effective strategies to deploy robotic
handling equipment at marine terminals.
Previously, Johannes worked as a product
manager and sales engineer at Navis,
where he was responsible for implementing
and designing automated solutions that
accelerate productivity at some of the
largest and most advanced ports in the
world. Johannes holds a degree in Industrial
Engineering and Operations Research at UC
Berkeley.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
Navis, a part of Cargotec Corporation, is a
provider of operational technologies and
services that unlock greater performance
and efficiency for the world’s leading
terminal operators and ocean carriers.
Navis combines industry best practices
with innovative technology and world-class
services to enable our customers to maximize
performance and reduce risk. Whether
tracking cargo through a port, automating
equipment operations, or managing multiple
terminals through an integrated, centralized
solution, Navis provides a holistic approach
to operational optimization, providing
customers with improved visibility, velocity
and measurable business results.
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