Asia’s first fully automated terminal Qingdao New Qianwan Container Terminal (QQCTN) has implemented Navis N4 terminal operating system (TOS) as part of the first phase of a wider automation project.
The terminal, located at the Port of Qingdao, China, went live commercially earlier this month and is undergoing a three-phased automation project.
According to Navis, QQCTN, which has two berths with a 1.5m teu capacity during its first phase, implemented N4 to leverage advanced functionality for automated equipment, including optimised scheduling and dispatching, and analytics.
The TOS provider also supports dynamic interfaces to the equipment control system (ECS) and Qingdao’s in-house terminal management system (TMS) interfacing with local applications including billing and vessel scheduling.
In addition to N4, QQCTN also features technologies including remote control ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, automated stacking cranes (ASC), automated guided vehicles (AGV), optical character recognition (OCR) and automatic twistlock handling machines.
QQCTN’s general manager Zhang Liangang said: “Navis’ experience with automation and the industry know-how of the professional services team shortened the terminal construction period in the QQCTN’s project.
“Continued close cooperation with Navis will push QQCTN to a better future that we are confident will raise the bar for modern terminal operations, performance and efficiency across the ocean supply chain.”
The terminal, which is expected to achieve a capacity of 5.2 m teu upon completion of the automation project, will be able to handle vessels of up to 24,000 teu.
In handling its first vessel, containership COSCO France, QQCTN achieved an average crane productivity of 26.1 moves per hour.
The ship, which brought 13,386 teu and executed nearly 4,000 container exchanges at the terminal, was handled with equipment including seven STS cranes.
Mark Welles, vice president and general manager of Asia-Pacific at Navis, said: “The collaboration between Navis N4 and QQCTN demonstrates that ‘PartnerShipping for Performance’ can produce exceptional results from the TOS system.”
“QQCTN has achieved unprecedented operational productivity since beginning commercial operations, and is quickly proving to be one of the most advanced and capable container terminals in the world.”
