Enabling the Connected Port of Things

As global trade increases at an exponential rate, ports are in turn thriving. However, some aspects of ports are stuck in the past, with most container ports still operating gigantic container yards manually.

For port container operators, finding the right container is like finding a needle in a haystack – especially in today’s ports, which can move around 11,000 cargo containers daily. But as the demand for goods rises, so too does the demand to move a greater volume of containers faster and more efficiently.

To counteract this need, more and more Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, systems, and technologies are being implemented to interconnect people, equipment, infrastructure, vehicles, and other critical assets. In particular, port officials are evaluating and looking to implement mobile communication technologies to help them improve productivity and reduce operational costs.

Singapore’s Mega Terminals: Analyzing Battery-Powered Vehicles

The growing increase of fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions around the world are causing concern among people and governments. Singapore has introduced a tax on the carbon emissions of industrial facilities which began on January 1, 2019. This was aimed at maintaining a high-quality living environment. The Maritime Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has introduced the ‘Green Port Programme’ under the Maritime Singapore Green Initiative, which aims to promote clean and green shipping in Singapore by adopting shipping practices over and above the minimum required by IMO Conventions.

Developing a National Trade Community System

Editor's note: PwC has fully explained its vision to allow Australia's trade to be securely linked by data to all supply chain participants and between other supply chain platforms developing across the globe.

Motivated by concerns over Australia’s worsening position in the World Bank’s Trading Across Borders rankings, The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Port of Brisbane and PwC Australia are seeking to bring Australian international trade to the 21st Century. Our vision is to remove complexity and overcome inefficiencies in the supply chain through a ‘Trade Community System’ (TCS) which links key supply chain information and ensures trust in that information through distributed ledger (or ‘blockchain’) technology…

#SPSC18 Conference e-Book #2 Blockchain

Blockchain in Supply Chains follows the supply chain eBook Path to Intelligence, but more of these digital publications, which feature many of the top #SPSC18 speakers, are yet to come.

PTI Editor Laurence Doe said: “With the advent of A.P.Moller-Maersk and IBM’s TradeLens blockchain solution entering the global supply chain, it’s now evidently clear to every logistics professional that the digital ledger’s baby steps into the industry are becoming great strides.

“However, as is often the case with all emerging technologies, I suspect that even after reading these technical papers, many of you will still question the credibility of blokchain.

“Even if you are not convinced, I hope this e-book, along with the supply chain focus of ‘The Path to Intelligence’, will develop your understanding of blockchain and generate questions for the conference.

“The ‘Blockchain and Data Sharing: Capitalising on the Blockchain Opportunity’ session at the upcoming conference ticks all the boxes for me, and I’ve featured a wonderfully insightful CargoX technical paper to provide you with a taste of what Igor Jakomin, the company’s COO, has in store as a speaker.”

Whitepaper: Container Weighing Explained

There are now less than six months remaining before the implementation of the amended Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) rules requiring that any container to be loaded onto a vessel to which these regulations apply, must have its gross mass determined in advance through weighing – there are no exceptions. While the onus is upon the shipper to fulfil this obligation, the most practical location at which weighing can take place is at the ports and terminals, where lifting is a part of the existing cargo handling process. Two years ago in a previous white paper Strainstall set out the technology options, costs and opportunities for container verified gross mass (VGM) determination, as a contribution to the debate on the impending regulation. With the rules now confirmed and just months remaining before the 1 July 2016 deadline for compliance, we now offer our views on the options for fast, cost-effective and accurate compliance.

THE BACKGROUND: THE 2016 SOLAS AMENDMENT
In developing the new 2016 SOLAS amendment on container VGM determination, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has kept things simple. From 1 July 2016 onwards, in order to protect the safety of ships, workers both on board and ashore involved in the handling of cargoes, and overall safety at sea, the verified gross mass of any packed container must be declared prior to stowage on board the vessel. This is not an optional requirement or an indication of best practice, but rather a legal obligation for all vessels affected by SOLAS regulations visiting any port in any IMO member state…

 

 

Breaking with tradition – Interview with Joost Achterkamp, Abu Dhabi Ports Company

“The mission of ADPC is to fulfill a role in the realization of the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030. That is the plan for Abu Dhabi to change their economy, depending less on the oil and gas industry and developing new industries like ports, Industrial Zones, and tourism. The most important target for ADPC at the moment is to build and operate Khalifa Port as the modern gateway and hub in Abu Dhabi.

“The opening date is planned for the fourth quarter of 2012. It is not only a container port; it has also other facilities for General Cargo, and RoRo. There is one dedicated berth that has been operational since November last year, and that is for EMAL, the aluminum smelter.

“Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone is for sure our flagship project, and it is one of the big projects that still continues. We have finalized all of the basic marine work – so the reclamation of the land, the quay walls, that’s all done – and now we can get all the other civil works in. Delivering the power from the power station and doing all the pavements, the storm drainage, and the electrical network – that is all in execution at the moment, with several different civil contracts.

“The equipment contracts were awarded by the end of November last year. There are thirty Automated Stacking Cranes (ASCs) units, six ship-to-shore cranes, twenty Sprinter Straddle Carriers – the one-over-one type, fast straddle carriers. The first components have arrived now on the port island; it’s a contract that we have with Konecranes, and they are coming to do the assembly and erection of the cranes on site, which will start from early next month [September 2011].

“We are well aware that time is money.”

“The Port of Felixstowe is the UK’s largest container port and the only one in the UK equipped to handle the next generation of container vessels. In addition to container traffic, Felixstowe also handles a significant quantity of RoRo traffic with Northern Europe.

“The UK economy is dependent upon imports and a very wide range of products are imported through Felixstowe. One of the advantages of Felixstowe for importers and exporters is that they can connect with just about every overseas market through the port.

“Berths 8&9 are the first phase of a project to refurbish and redevelop facilities in the southern part of the port. Ultimately, the project will provide an additional 1,285 metres of quay. Berths 8&9 provide the first 730 metres of quay dredged, initially, to 16 metres alongside but we have designed and built the terminal to allow this to be increased to 18 metres as and when required.

“The other factor behind the development of Berths 8&9 has been the drive by the world’s major shipping lines to secure economies of scale. Every week we are seeing new vessels of 12,000 TEU, 14,000 TEU and soon 18,000 TEU. We are wholly committed to providing our customers with the facilities they require and there is a clear requirement for terminal capacity for the largest ships. Berths 8&9 provide that capacity.

“From a customer perspective, it is also important that these facilities can be accessed with minimum deviation from the main shipping routes. We are well aware that time is money, and that schedule reliability is crucial, and these new facilities will help our customers provide the efficient and reliable service that shippers rightly demand.

The Last Word: How the proposed cuts to the DHS’s Port Security Grant program will affect U.S. ports

“The Port Security Grant program provides needed federal help to harden security at U.S. ports. Most port areas have developed five-year plans to enhance security by ranking projects based on risk. By decreasing this funding, these five-year plans cannot be carried out, leaving critical security enhancements undone

“Additionally, these funds are used to help maintain current levels of security by providing funds for maintenance and replacement of broken systems in order to sustain a certain capability. Reducing these funds by two-thirds will surely have a negative impact on our current ability to protect America’s ports, as well as plans for future improvements.

“In meetings with Obama Administration officials, key staff in the Department of Homeland Security, and with staff of Members in both chambers of Congress, AAPA is encouraging all concerned to come to agreement on a budget for FY 2011 and FY 2012 that cuts wasteful spending but raises the funding priority for freight-handling initiatives and preserves needed national investments in port security and transportation infrastructure.

“AAPA is expressing both optimism and disappointment over various aspects of the Obama Administration’s fiscal 2012 proposed budget, primarily as it pertains to seaports and the efficient, safe and cost-effective movement of freight.

“A potential bright spot in the FY’12 budget for seaports in the Administration’s heightened commitment to infrastructure investment. The budget includes a robust, six-year, US$556 billion surface transportation authorization proposal, as well as a $50 billion up-front, first-year outlay, which provides $2 billion for a National Infrastructure Investments program, similar to the TIGER discretionary grants program in FY’10. However, we’re concerned that the expanded variety of modes in the new I-Bank compared to TIGER, such as aviation infrastructure, could cause funding for seaport-related infrastructure to be overshadowed. Ultimately, there needs to be a heightened federal focus on freight transportation if the I-Bank model is adopted.

“Even less encouraging for ports are the cuts the FY’12 proposed budget makes to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works program and the Port Security Grant program, as well as elimination of funding altogether for the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) program.

The Last Word: “When you’re already big, you have a far better chance of getting BIGGER”

“The Port of Salalah is a little bit different from other ports because we’re a public-private partnership, and we’re kind of the Port Authority as well. We operate the whole port – we operate the tugs, the general cargo, there’s also some real estate. APM Terminals has the management contract to operate the entire facility, so APMT is 30 percent shareholder and the manager at the same time.

“Oman has 3 million people, so it’s not a huge market. Salalah is 1000km away from the major consumer market of Muscat, so we don’t really service Muscat, at least not directly. Ninety-eight percent of all container volume is transshipment, then on the general cargo side all import-exports are local.

“We’re not really servicing a market other than Salalah on the container side or on the general cargo side. There is a desire – and actually we’ve started some recent tests – to observe the northern Yemeni market. There’s about 8 million people who live 50km away from Salalah in Yemen, and with a decent road, we could come to an agreement with the Al-Mazunah Free Zone on the border and the Omani Customs to get bonded cargo from the Port to the Al-Mazunah Free Zone, and then into Yemen. And so we feel that that market could develop a significant amount of desire to come to Salalah for serving the Yemeni market…

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