Technical Papers

When, in 2002, the International Conference on Maritime Security concluded with the implementation of Automatic Identification Systems (AIS), it seemed as though the combination of GPS and AIS would offer total reliability for the assignment of a ship’s position in a VTS area. However, this is frequently turning out not to be the case. This article reports on a solution to this which involves the aid of a radio direction finder.

Today, a number of factors are forcing regional ports and feeder ports to make essential decisions about whether they should upgrade their facilities or not. The primary reason is the ‘cascade effect’ caused by the introduction of mega-ships at the top of the container vessel hierarchy. These new 7,000- to 12,500-TEU vessels are displacing 4,000- to 6,000-TEU vessels and pushing them down one level in the hierarchy; and they, in turn, are pushing 2,000- to 4,000-TEU vessels down one level.

International sea transportation has expanded dramatically in recent years, making port terminals key players in today’s global shipping network. Increasing shipping volumes is requiring terminals to work at maximum capacity – creating challenges and new opportunities for terminal operators. To compete successfully and make the most of this expanding market, terminal operators must focus on improving their operational efficiency at the quay and within the yard.

In co-operation with Norwegian Coastal Administration, IALA will conduct the 11th VTS Symposium from 4 to 8 August, 2008 in the historic city of Bergen on the Norwegian southwest coast. The venue – Grieg Hall – is the home of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the oldest orchestral institutions in the world.

As global container shipping volumes continue to grow, terminal operators around the world share a common problem: how to squeeze more productivity out of all assets in the container terminal. Automated container handling has become one of the most legitimate answers to this question.

Background The realities of moder n shipping, with larger and less manoeuvrable ships, localised areas of traffic congestion, varied hazardous cargoes, environmental and security concerns has pressured competent authorities to take sophisticated measures to reduce risks. In recent years there have been significant developments in maritime technology, including the introduction of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) and the concept of ‘e-navigation.’

The project Visit Bremerhaven in northern Germany and you will see Europe’s largest harbour job site. The transportation of containers via Bremerhaven is experiencing a boom like just about no other industry in Germany, with annual growth rates sometimes hitting double figures. In just 27 years the Weser estuary has become Europe’s fourth most important container terminal, and a leading player on the international stage. To maintain this position in the future, owner Land Bremen has extended its container terminal from 3,200 square metres to 4,872, at a cost of some 500 million euros. In doing so, it created space for four additional state-of-the-art container vessels.

During the past year, several milestones set the course for electronic seals (e-Seals) to help automate the visibility and security status of cargo containers as they move throughout the global supply chain. As a result, 2008 could prove to be the year that shippers more broadly deploy e-Seals in their ongoing efforts to improve chain-of-custody surety, speed customs clearances and enhance operational efficiency. What is an e-Seal? A sub-set of electronic ‘container security devices,’ e-Seals combine Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) electronics with the traditional mechanical pin and cap used to lock container doors. The RFID component can send data and automated alerts over radio waves to networks of interrogators which identify a container’s location as well as whether the seal has been tampered with or broken.

Steven Van Till, President and COO of Brivo Systems recently made the presentation “Taking access control beyond its Boundaries with IP” at the IPUserGroup USA – Boston event. He shows how with an IP Infrastructure and a little creativity one can take access control far beyond its traditional boundaries in the security world. With the introduction of Web-hosted access control, it is now possible to leverage existing access systems by connecting them to the vast information services available on the Internet. Web-hosted access control service can provide a single point of integration that can be shared across thousands of accounts, sites, and control panels. This integration enables access control, device management, and other systems to ‘listen’ and respond to data such as weather conditions, public service announcements, and much more.

As global trade continues to increase there is a steadliy growing worldwide demand for container handling capability at the lowest possible price. Competition is sharpening as new container terminals are being built using the latest technology and existing terminals consider ways to increase their capacity while decreasing their cost. Not only is the total volume of annually shipped containers growing but so is also vessel sizes and the number of containers handled in a single port of call. Whether a large new terminal with massive automated yard handling capacity or a smaller terminal trying to keep up with competition, they all have the same strong incentives to improve the operational performance of the STS cranes in their terminals. To meet the increased demand in quay crane capacity, different strategies can be adopted using a larger number of cranes or more complex crane designs such as dual trolley or dual hoist cranes. For all types of mechanical crane designs automation features can be implemented to increase a crane’s productivity and decrease its operational cost further.

Liebher r-Werk Nenzing recently announced their latest improvements and upgrades to its range of mobile harbour cranes. According to Liebherr this is driven by their in-house ‘constant improvement programme,’ a unique facet of the Liebherr philosophy which involves improving on their products to suit customer needs. In the latest changes, the main components are maintained –the undercarr iage system still retains its place in creating a highly successful manoeuvrable mobile harbour crane; the simple hydrostatic drives remain standard, allowing the same components to be used on all machines and ensure good spares availability and a single system for engineering support; the low wheel loads protect the customers quay from higher point loads of competitor machines; and Liebherr’s in-house control system means no possibility of the system becoming obsolete during the lifetime of the crane.

The following is a summary of a recent Masters Thesis by Jang-Ho Song, who was enrolled in the Port-logistics Programme at the Graduate School of Korea Maritime University, Busan, South Korea. In August 2007 it was awarded the Minister Prize from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs & Fisheries as the top thesis in the department. Introduction In a rapidly changing marine environment, worldwide container terminals are concentrating on improvement in productivity to reinforce marketing power and to obtain competitive power. In modern terminals, equipment, and facilities, productivity is rapidly developing. Specifically, productivity is progressing with a great deal of investment focused on improving equipment functionality and infrastructure.