Technical Papers

Flexibility, knowledge and extensive exper ience are the foundations of ORTS GmbH Maschinenfabr ik, Germany. The company has successfully been in the grab market for over 35 years. High product quality can be ensured as all grabs are selfconstructed and manufactured in Orts’ own German workshops. Orts grabs are well known for their effectiveness (high discharge rate), reliability and their long lifespan of handling millions and millions of tonnes. The purchase price of new grabs does not always tell the whole story, and inexpensiveness does not always relate to value. Over the years it is quality, reliability and effectiveness that matter most.

The speed and subsequent depth witnessed in the current economic slowdown has clearly presented the port industry with a wholly different range of decisions to ponder whilst formulating Capital expenditure budgets for 2010, and perhaps beyond. There has, as a result, been a marked shift from the purchase of new capital-intensive items such as cranes to meet growing volumes and replace aging equipment, by projects more akin with conserving cash. This predicament has opened peoples’ eyes and minds to seriously consider schemes to extract another 5-10 years of use from Ship-to-Shore cranes that in more prosperous times would have been parked at the end of the quay, or even demolished.

Port operators are dependent on fail-safe hoist technology in order to unload container ships quickly, and crane stoppages lead to cost-intensive lay days. Therefore, the continuous working order of hoist technology is an important factor for the economic success of ports. Built to last Franz Wölfer Elektromaschinenfabrik Osnabrück GmbH is a German company that develops and produces electrical motors for inverter operations, particularly for lifting applications.

The Port of Coronel has been in operation since 1996 as an export port for break-bulk forest products. It is situated in the Coronel Bay, about 30 km south of Concepción, at the Gulf of Arauco, which is about 400 km south of the capital Santiago de Chile in Chile. In 1995, the sandy natural beach in Coronel was converted into a real export port with the construction of the first jetty and cargo warehouses. The existing shacks and community living on the beach were relocated to a completely new neighbourhood in Coronel with all facilities, such as water and electricity financed by the new port.

As a result of the attacks from September 11th 2001 and other high-profile security issues, demands for safety and security have increased in any area potentially endangered by terrorism. Ports and harbours, being major access points for people and freight entering a country, are considered to be possible targets for criminal activities such as terrorism, illegal immigration and smuggling of drugs and weapons. Besides these issues, there a numerous regular processes within ports and harbours which require control and surveillance.

When Carmanah pioneered the first self-contained solar LED marine lantern in 1996, it began a wave of solar solutions for marine applications. From coast guards, to navies, to port author ities to mar inas, Carmanah’s solar technology has proven its place in one of the most demanding environments on earth. Building on this field-proven performance and timetested reliability, Carmanah is once again setting the standard and pushing solar into the next realm. With higher efficiency components and improved energy management, the company’s new M650 solar LED mar ine lantern offers reliability, performance and sophistication delivered in a versatile and costeffective form-factor.

Diesel-electric powered offshore vessels are becoming more and more common, with most of them using azimuth thrusters either for main or auxiliary propulsion during dynamic positioning. The thrusters in use are generally mechanical geared thrusters with horizontal power input, and in some cases, electric pod systems. Both systems have their pros and cons in respect of size, space requirements, and initial and operational costs.

This period of prolonged economic downturn has affected the movement of goods greatly, not to mention the movers of these goods and associated service providers. They face a prolonged battle against falling revenues and Capital Expenditure reductions whilst jealously guarding Operating Expenditure and apportioning it more to core revenue generating uses (quite correctly so).

For around five years airport operators have used strategic master plans as tools for aiding the growth and development of airports across the UK. The master plan process has helped them set out their development proposals; inform planners and communities about their future objectives; and engage with local and regional stakeholders. Now the Department for Transport wants to replicate that success in the ports sector, so in December of last year we published guidance recommending that all major UK ports should produce master plans in consultation with their key stakeholders, and advising on how they might best achieve this.

To say that mar itime ports are complex operations is an understatement. Their sheer size, the amount of goods coming and going in a given day, and the number of people necessary to keep business moving is staggering. Those charged with choreographing the precise steps in these behemoth operations must look for every advantage to ensure trade in the global marketplace isn’t interrupted. When it comes to moving, tracking and coordinating the placement of containers, many of the world’s ports rely on the Duros™ 1214 rugged, fixed-mount computer because it is reliable, powerful and engineered to withstand the unique challenges of the port environment. Perhaps more importantly, it can help port managers streamline operations and track assets.

Security aims to stay a step ahead of threats, making it an evolving strategy in an ever-changing landscape. Port security is no exception. In the past decade, global efforts to secure ports have taken a giant leap forward with new identification validation systems that put technology at the heart of the solution. But implementation of processes and systems remains a work in progress, and planning for the future requires flexibility to meet today’s requirements and adapt as they change. DAP Technologies understands this changing environment and the need for port facilities to make sound investments in technological solutions that leverage existing security infrastructure, comply with current credential guidelines and remain relevant for years to come.

Introduction A multi-trailer system (MTS) allows transportation of a larger number of containers as opposed to the traditional single trailer systems. Therefore terminal and port operators consider the MTS as one of the options for increasing efficiency.