The blueprint for the trans-shipment port, which could also become the greenest in the world, has been drawn up by researchers from Edinburgh Napier University’s Transport Research Institute (TRI). They estimate that the floating hub, which consists of a large storage vessel fitted with cranes, could nearly double the current UK£16 billion value of Scotland’s exports of manufactured goods. Spin-off jobs would also be created for Scotland as the hub’s host nation. Professor Alf Baird, a maritime business expert, led the university’s involvement in the EU-funded project in collaboration with German crane manufacturer, Gottwald Port Technology. “The hub could handle goods for perhaps over 20 countries in Europe, including the UK, which would then be trans-shipped via the new terminal,” says Baird. “Scotland, as the host nation, would be able to develop advanced logistics capabilities and spin-offs from the hub so that substantial extra income could be generated through storage, labelling, sorting, distribution and selling of goods. “Most of Europe’s seafood, for example, is produced nearby in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Russia and Greenland – this traffic could be consolidated in Scotland into refrigerated containers for distribution worldwide via the container hub. Indigenous exports such as whisky would also expect to become more competitive. The facility’s low-cost global transport connections in particular would help attract inward investment to Scotland.” The hub could also become the “ultimate green port” due in part to its proximity to Orkney’s burgeoning marine renewable energy sector, said Baird. “It would have virtually zero impact on the landside, lead to major reductions in deep-sea and feeder ship CO2 emissions due to the shorter sailing distances, and make use of renewable energy to power the container cranes.”
Economic importance
The Scottish Government has identified the economic importance of developing a container trans-shipment terminal at Scapa Flow, whose location at the crossroads between the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean is seen as ideal for the venture. At around EUR 40 million, the proposed floating port – christened the Floating Container Storage and Trans-shipment Terminal or FCSTT – would cost around EUR 80 million less to build than a conventional land-based port offering similar capacity. The FCSTT also benefits from much lower operating costs, also estimated at below one-third that of a land-based terminal. The cash flow analysis assumes an almost 100% trans-shipment scenario, which is not unlike a number of hubs elsewhere such as Freeport (Bahamas) and Salalah (Oman). Based on current container handling prices at existing hubs, the financial outcome appears most positive for a 4-crane FCSTT offering up to 600m of berthing space and which is estimated to have a maximum annual throughput capacity in the region of 700,000 TEU.
Design concept
The FCSTT design concept is based either on a bespoke barge type structure, or the use of a converted container ship as the crane and storage platform. In either case container handling would be undertaken by slewing stevedoring cranes fitted to the FCSTT. “This is a low cost solution which helps make the terminal easier to develop,” said Baird, who has already had interest from Latin America, the USA and Norway in the TRI proposal. The FCSTT is easily transferrable and can be used wherever there is demand, with the further advantage that it can be put in place relatively quickly, overcoming many of the planning constraints faced by conventional seaport infrastructure developments. The FCSTT is considered to be ideal for any pure trans-shipment terminal scenario, but could also be positioned within existing ports as required. The provision of future additional capacity is also greatly simplified compared with a concrete land-based terminal. “It is a design concept that could also be employed in many other parts of the world as an alternative to high-cost concrete terminals, in turn minimising environmental impacts in sensitive coastal areas,” he added. The partners behind the project will now bid for further EU funding, as well as Scottish Government support, to help develop a full-scale demo terminal in tandem with interested maritime companies.
Solving the problem
Over the years, floating container crane concepts have come in different shapes and sizes and there has always been one major obstacle to overcome – the movement (the rolling and heaving) of the floating concept. Equipped with an automatic spreader (not a spreader frame) the movement will cause the spreader to swing ‘rigorously’, and although the flippers can ‘guide’ the spreader when lowering onto the container this issue causes many concepts to be terminated. Last year, I met a student at the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands who – with a lot of enthusiasm – chose the subject of floating container cranes for his thesis. Well into this research he encountered so many problems with the floating container crane concept – and in particular the movement of the floating platform the crane is placed on – that he decided to choose something else as subject matter for his thesis! So, one of the main issues with the floating container crane concept remains the swaying of the automatic spreader, and we are curious if partner in the project Gottwald Port Technology or the research team has found a solution to the problem of swaying of the automatic spreader.
According to Professor Baird, the key difference between their Floating Container Storage and Trans-shipment Terminal concept and others is that the FCSTT is only applicable in a 100% trans-shipment scenario. “The FCSTT is also envisaged for operations in rivers, estuaries and other sheltered, very low wave environments, so concern about spreader sway is not considered to be a problem given the right operational location,” Baird points out. “It would be a problem if seeking to undertake ship-to-ship container transfers in open sea, but that is not what is envisaged.” Baird also points out that he has been made aware of actual industry interest in the FCSTT for applications in Latin America and in Africa, and intends to make further progress with an FCSTT at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands.
Proven success for bulk operations
Gottwald Port Technology, a major mobile harbour crane manufacturer, has sold numerous floating bulk barges equipped with mobile harbour technology, to stevedoring companies working upriver in the USA and 20-miles off the coast of Indonesia in up to 2.5m wave swell, although these floating barges are mainly used for handling bulk cargo. But Baird reiterates that there are already floating terminals handling containers, in upriver locations for example in the Port of Chibatao, Brazil. Here a floating pier, connected to the mainland through a floating bridge, is equipped with three Liebherr FCC 280R cranes. “These cranes are manufactured specifically upon request by the company,” says Sabrina Capelli, Marketing Assistant at Liebherr Werk Nenzing, Austria. “These FCC-cranes are adequate for container handling operations and of course there is no problem regarding the floating pier as cranes are designed for 5 degrees heel and 2 degrees trim (so, these could also work on ships). The movement would be necessary to counteract any waves. “There are potential waves, mainly due to the passing boats but the waves are maximum 0.5m high,” said Fernando Mello, Sales Engineer at Liebherr Brasil. “The difference between low tide and high tide is about 12m.” As a result the floating pier and bridge have been tied down with cables to maintain it not only in position but also to try to stabilise it. “Each crane can unload up to 21 containers per hour, sometimes more, but it´s not the limit of the crane,” said Mello. “The problem lies in the fact that on the pier there is not enough room for various trucks, so the productivity is limited to the number of trucks that can run over the pie
r.”
Lessons learned
Over the last couple of years, the bulk industry has been leading the idea of floating terminals and perhaps the latest comes from the world’s second-largest coal exporter – Indonesia. Mr Hidenobu Teramura, a director at Japan’s trade ministry, has announced that the country has signed USD1.2 billion-contract for a floating dock to enable speedier transfer of coal from barges to larger ships. Teramura also said that construction of the so-called ‘mega-float’, to be moored off the coast of East Kalimantan, is likely to start in 2014. The floating coal terminal will be longer than eight Airbus SAS A380 super jumbos, and is designed to cut the time taken to load a Panamax ship to one day from seven. Both Japan and Indonesia will benefit from the contract – Japan will export infrastructure technology and revive a stagnating domestic economy following the earthquake and tsunami, while Indonesia is rapidly developing mining in Kalimantan, among its most resource-rich areas, where inadequate infrastructure is impeding development. According to Wood Mackenzie Research Consultancy, coal will provide the bulk of the fuel for power generation in Southeast Asia, where demand for electricity may triple 2030. Companies plan to build 35 giga-watts of coal-fired capacity in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore. Shallow waters around Kalimantan, the Indonesian side of Borneo Island, limit access to the largest coal carriers that are able to pass through the Panama Canal. The floating terminal will be located in waters deep enough for panamax vessels to berth on one side and barges to unload on the other. “The float, 600m long and 150m wide, will be able to accommodate two Panamax ships and stockpile 600,000 tonnes of coal,” according to Teramura. “There will be space to blend coal to customer specifications, potentially raising prices.” Japan Coal Energy Center, known as J-Coal, is scheduled to complete the Indonesian mega-float study in the second half of the year. Japan may offer the financing to Indonesia for the project with a clause that that at least 30% of the materials used in the floating terminal would be made in Japan, giving Japanese companies such as IHI Corp, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd and Nippon Steel Corp an opportunity to win contracts. IHI, Mitsubishi Heavy and some rival shipbuilders had jointly developed the mega-float technology in the 1990’s, aiming to create a floating airport in Japan as a cheaper alternative to a landfill project.
Summary
In summary, it seems that the floating port concept is here to stay. The success achieved in the bulk industry is testimony to the advantages floating platforms can bring particularly in locations where quay space is limited.
The Scapa Flow project is very exciting as it offers a real chance to bring these benefits to the container industry – which presents more challenges and obstacles to designers and engineers. World Port Development, along with the rest of the industry will watch with great interest to see how the Floating Container Storage and Trans-shipment Terminal fares over the next year and whether it can deliver on its promise.