Ports America set a record in its Group A Stevedore category with 12 first-place Coast Awards in the past 14 years and an unprecedented 14 first-place Coast Awards during the past 17 years.

In the Pacific Northwest, Ports America garnered Group B Stevedore Operations 1st Place Coast and 1st Place Local Area Awards, plus received the Greatest Reduction in Injury Rate Award for its Vancouver-Columbia River operation. In the Container Operations Group B category, Ports America in Washington-Puget Sound won 1st Place Local Area Award, Local Area Reduction in Injury Rate, and 2nd Place Coast Award.

Ports America in Port Hueneme was awarded with the Most Improved Safety Record for companies with 50,000 man-hours or more and presented with the Group B Stevedore Operations 2nd Place Coast and 2nd Place Local Area Awards.

Both the Port Hueneme and Los Angeles/Long Beach divisions of Ports America were recognized with local area Reduced Injury/Illness Incident Rate Certificates.

Ports America’s National Lines Bureau was honored with 1st Place Coast Award for Lines Companies in Los Angeles/Long Beach and the One-Year Zero Incident Rate Coast Award.

Ports America Vice President, Labor Relations and Safety, Sean Lindsay commented on the company’s overall accomplishments.

“Safety has always been a top priority in all Ports America operations,” said Lindsay. “We are especially proud of our long and successful partnership in safety with the ILWU. Without the leadership of the ILWU international officers and the commitment of the rank and file to safety in the workplace, these accomplishments would not be possible.”

The awards rules are established by the awards committee. The awards committee is composed of members from all areas on the West Coast. Award winners are determined by companies attaining the lowest incident rate within their category. Companies are divided into categories and subcategories based on their type of operation and the number of hours worked for an entire year by longshoremen, clerks, and foremen. The categories are stevedoring companies, container companies, terminal companies, bulk operators and lines companies.

The move to a much larger office reflects the continuing growth experienced by Kongsberg Maritime in China and demonstrates the company’s commitment to ensuring local assets are available throughout the Asian shipbuilding industry.

Staff and equipment were moved to the impressive new six-story, 5060m² building during Q1 2012 while the official opening ceremony took place on March 15th. The property provides ample opportunity for business development and features a state-of-the-art new training centre, which incorporates a training room, simulator room and instructor room. This new facility is accredited as a DP operator training centre in accordance with Nautical Institute standards.

Kjetil Lund, Managing Director of Kongsberg Maritime China commented on the relocation: “We have seen continued sales growth in China in recent years and our workforce in Shanghai has grown from 25 in 2003 to 250 employees today. Altogether in China, KONGSBERG now totals almost 600 employees. It became essential to relocate to better equipped offices that provide modern facilities and an open environment for both our employees and customers in order for us to continue serving increasing market requirements for our products and services in China.”

The existing Kongsberg Maritime China Ltd premises, two kilometres away from the new building, will be maintained for Kongsberg Maritime product testing and factory assembly.

Executives recently announced the selection of container handling equipment for horizontal transport of containers that offers higher productivity levels and is the safest and most advanced equipment of its kind in the world.

“Our terminal design engineers worked with customers and studied ports worldwide and identified the area for quantum leap improvement is clearly how to better optimize container yard operations.  Too often, quayside crane productivity is hampered by container yard activities not keeping pace. Managing thousands of containers that are discharged or loaded while a vessel is at the quay is an area we are targeting for higher productivity results for our customers. We have designed the terminal to serve the largest containerships in the world with higher productivity and service level consistency day-in, day-out while operating in a safe, environmentally-friendly way. Our estimates show we can deliver 25-50% productivity improvement results for our customers vs. conventional terminal designs”, stated Frank Tazelaar, Managing Director for APM Terminals Maasvlakte II.

Innovative equipment

The terminal design concept is based on using ship-to-shore (STS) cranes that unload containers from the vessel and place them directly onto a fleet of Lift Automated Guided Vehicles (Lift AGVs). The Lift AGVs can carry two containers at a time and shuttle them at a speed of 22 kilometers per hour from the quay to the container yard using an onboard navigation system that follows a transponder grid.  Once the Lift AGV arrives at its programmed destination it lifts the containers into a series of storage racks.  Next, an Automated Rail-Mounted Gantry (ARMG) crane arrives to take the container from the rack to its next designated location which could be to the rail terminal, a trucker or stacking it somewhere else in the container yard. For the first phase of the Maasvlakte II terminal, the fleet will consist of 36 Lift AGVs in combination with 128 storage racks.

This ability to lift the container off the vehicle and place it into a storage rack system is the first of its kind in the world. In the past, AGVs could not perform this action. The Lift AGV consists of two lift platforms, which are able to load and unload containers independently of each other. APM Terminals Maasvlakte II is the first terminal in the world to be equipped with Lift AGVs. It is this simple transaction where productivity benefits will be gained. In short, a new process has been formed for managing container flows by having automated equipment transport – lift – and stack – containers.

After an extensive evaluation process, APM Terminals Maasvlakte II chose the Lift AGV based on the high levels of productivity and safety, while maintaining low costs of ownership. They are built in Germany by Gottwald Port Technology, a subsidiary of Demag Cranes who have a proven track record in the development of automated container handling equipment. The vendor selection of Automated Rail-Mounted Gantry cranes and ship-to-shore cranes for Maasvlakte II is currently ongoing.

Green technology

The vehicles, measuring 15 metres long and 3 metres wide, are powered by diesel-electric motors. These fuel-efficient and low-noise diesel engines meet the latest and strictest European exhaust gas standards.  Design engineers are also studying the feasibility of making the Lift AGVs 100% electrical-powered, which will enable further reduction in emissions and noise levels.

Fleet management system

The equipment order also comprises the delivery of a dedicated fleet management system for Lift AGV’s. “The software optimizes the deployment of the fleet and the travel distance of the individual vehicles. The system will be seamlessly integrated with our equipment control and other operating systems, so that we can better manage our container yard for our customers”, added Tazelaar. 

Safety benefits

Container yards are historically a high traffic area that pose the highest risk for serious accidents and injuries due to the interaction of people with heavy machinery. The use of the fully automated Lift AGVs makes the container yard a safer place. The automated area is fenced off to protect dockworkers and truckers from entering. Additional safety systems ensure that the system is stopped when people enter the automated area.

Further development

Civil construction activities are planned to start in June 2012 at APM Terminals Maasvlakte II. The arrival of the first set of Lift AGV vehicles is planned for Q1 2013 after which thorough testing and integration with other container handling equipment will start.

According to Capt. Jan Nowak, BICTL chief executive officer and general manager, signing a terminal services agreement with another shipping line will further improve container volume at BICT:   “With Batumi being the gateway to the Caucasus region and Central Asia, attracting more shipping lines to call at BICT will definitely increase our container market share in Georgia.  As we also have the go signal for the planned phased development of the terminal that will start within the year, we are now more optimistic of attracting more clients and cargo to improve our business,”

Arkas Line, formerly known as EMES Shipping and Transport S.A., was established in July 1996 and became the first container shipping line in Turkey under the Turkish flag.  Arkas Line provides regular line service to the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions.

BICT is a subsidiary of ICTSI, a leading port management company involved in the operations and development of 22 marine terminals and port projects in 17 countries worldwide. Temuri Babilodze (left), Arkas Line Georgia LLC General Manager, shakes hands with Capt. Jan Nowak, Batumi International Container Terminal LLC General Manager, after signing a terminal services agreement.