Port automation is already making a significant impact, helping ports worldwide increase efficiency, serve more customers, and handle more cargo. It also improves data visibility, leading to better decision-making.
However, the industry still faces several challenges. A recent EPA report highlights the main issues: congestion, container management, environmental sustainability, and climate resilience.
Each of these challenges poses a significant obstacle. Combined, they require innovative solutions, persistence, and technological expertise.
In this report, we’ll look into the technological push for efficiency that drives progress in an industry faced with limited space and capacity, changing conditions, and ever-increasing demands and expectations.
Let’s explore the challenges terminals are currently facing and how automation is transforming the industry, creating more efficient and resilient ports and terminals.
Space around major ports is limited and used for different purposes. This land both supports port operations and, at the same time, limits their growth.
Although congestion at some terminals has improved since the pandemic, conditions at other terminals have gotten worse. According to data from beacon.com, global port congestion continues to increase, with 60% of 89 surveyed ports reporting worsening conditions this summer.
This is no small problem. The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) estimates that at least seven out of the ten busiest ports in the U.S. suffer congestion problems on a regular basis. The businesses and infrastructure that support and benefit from port activity also end up competing with the port for surrounding land. These spatial limitations can confound expansion and modernization efforts. More immediately, however, they cause congestion both within and outside the port.
Externally, industrial expansion by other players in the area can cause congestion in the transportation infrastructure surrounding a port. When this happens, the flow of goods into and out of the terminal is slowed. This becomes the weakest link, damaging the rest of the terminal’s operations. Even if the port expands its cargo handling capacity, its ability to process freight is limited by the capacity of the external infrastructure.
The resulting gridlock is a problem that echoes across the supply chain. According to the NCBFAA:
“Ships are stranded offshore for days, even weeks, waiting to unload. Containers are buried in enormous stacks in clogged terminal yards. Trucks wait in line for hours (up to eight or nine hours in some cases) to pick up a single container. And customers throughout the country experience shipment delays lasting weeks. The congestion and bottlenecks reverberate throughout the supply chain, becoming a significant trade barrier for both exports and imports with a corresponding negative impact on the economy.”
The problem seems intractable, and solutions that attempt to tackle the external congestion directly are difficult to implement. The short-term solution comes from within and is driven by technology.
At Tideworks, our marine TOS, Mainsail 10, integrates seamlessly with both our Tideworks Data Platform and numerous third-party tools like ERPs, appointment systems, and OCR, LPR, and RFID technologies to improve gate traffic and give modern terminals a detailed, near real-time view into their operation. With Tideworks Data Platform, you’re able to anticipate high demand on a single day and allocate resources accordingly. If you run into gate issues, Tideworks Data Platform allows you to drill down into the data to judge what may be causing the issue and delay.
This challenge is related to the previous hurdle in some ways. When space is limited, terminal expansion is frequently hampered. When storage needs scale, ports are unable to scale their yards to match. This causes critical container management problems. Due to limited capacity, full containers are often stacked deep, preventing yard operators from efficiently managing them and causing additional rehandles when the container is inaccessible. Compounding the problem are the empty containers that must also be stored until they’re ready to be reused.
The EPA notes in its report that the related moving and storage costs are frequently higher than the value of the containers. Container Xchange estimates that the costs related to repositioning empty containers hover around 20 billion dollars per year across the entire industry. What’s needed are container optimization strategies that reduce the frequency of individual containers needing to be moved.
Marine terminals and the ships they serve operate on a scale that puts them at odds with the environment. It’s estimated that container ships emit around 1,000 million metric tons (Mt) of CO2 annually, accounting for approximately 3% of global CO2 emissions.
The entirety of a terminal’s operations, including the trucks that service the terminal, contributes to air pollution. Due to this, the industry faces numerous challenges in its efforts to abide by federal and international standards and regulations to reduce environmental impact.
But the industry is rising to the challenge. Efforts to mitigate these impacts include the adoption of green fuels such as hydrogen and e-ammonia, which are sustainable but currently expensive and require significant investment and regulatory support to become viable alternatives. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has developed strategies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from shipping, promoting onshore power supplies from renewable sources, and optimizing port logistics to reduce emissions.
A recent report from the World Economic Forum mentions innovative technological solutions to address shipping pollution, such as Cubex, a startup that aims to reduce global shipping emissions by buying and selling unused container space on existing cargo ship routes:
“Cubex uses a real-time, blockchain-enabled online marketplace that optimizes empty cargo space and can potentially reduce emissions from shipping vessels by up to 20%. Anyone using the platform can buy or sell cubic meters of space on any container going to any destination.”
Climate change is an unfortunate reality, and its effects are varied and far-reaching. According to Copernicus, the European Union’s Earth Observation Programme, coastal areas tend to suffer the heaviest impacts due to rising sea levels and extreme weather conditions. These impacts have a direct effect on port and terminal operations. Among other challenges, ships can be prevented from docking, and high winds and other extreme weather events can restrict high-risk activities such as crane movements.
It’s not accidental that weather-tracking technologies are evolving at a rate to match the erratic climatic changes we’re observing. Ships can now navigate using optimized routes based on real-time weather data provided by intelligent weather routing systems. This helps them avoid dangerous weather situations. Ship scheduling within a terminal can also be optimized using similar technologies.
Terminals are adopting automated systems and artificial intelligence to reduce disruptions from natural disasters. These technologies optimize operations using autonomous vehicles, robotic cranes, and AI-driven logistics systems. In addition to improving efficiency, these innovations help lower emissions by minimizing fuel consumption and enabling smoother, more sustainable operations.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is revolutionizing terminal operations by enabling a massively connected, data-driven environment. IoT enables real-time monitoring and data collection from various terminal assets and equipment. This connectivity allows terminal operators to optimize resource allocation, streamline cargo handling, and reduce idle times.
Predictive maintenance is another significant benefit of IoT in terminals. IoT sensors monitor the condition of equipment, such as trucks and conveyor systems, detecting anomalies that may indicate potential failures. By analyzing this data, terminals can schedule maintenance proactively, reducing downtime and extending the lifespan of equipment. This approach lowers costs associated with unexpected repairs and ensures smoother operations.
IoT technology significantly enhances safety and security. Real-time tracking of terminal activities helps identify potential hazards and unauthorized access. Environmental sensors can detect gas leaks and trigger automatic safety systems, preventing accidents and ensuring a secure working environment.
IoT also plays a crucial role in improving sustainability by optimizing performance. IoT can streamline vessel performance and route planning, reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Integration with emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) further enhances the capabilities of IoT in ports. AI and ML improve the analysis of IoT-generated data, enabling predictive analytics, automated decision-making, and more efficient processes.
The real-world impact of IoT innovations is only just beginning and it needs to make sense for your terminal’s goals. Keep an eye on the ports of Hamburg and Barcelona, each of which has committed to comprehensive digitization strategies that include renewable energy as well as IoT integrations.
Ports can use automated cranes to achieve better stacking density and loading/unloading capacity. Flexible design options means they can be more space- and resource-efficient. These cranes load, stack, and unload containers incredibly efficiently using digital cameras and other automated sensors.
ASCs represent the vanguard of port automation, a real-world example of where the industry is going. ASC systems are capable of loading and unloading containers more efficiently, and their automation contributes to optimal container density.
Manzanillo International Terminal is one of the most forward-thinking ports regarding the efficient use of automation. Since 2013, Tideworks has been working with them to integrate ASCs with our software solutions in order to optimize yard space.
Blockchain, the technology that created and enabled Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, is leaving the world of finance and finding applications across a wide spectrum of industries. The supply chain industry is exploring blockchain’s potential to enhance port connectivity, data security, and transparency.
Blockchain is unique in that it tracks every “transaction” that has ever occurred with stability and transparency. The blockchain cannot be altered, hacked, or changed, and anyone can track the full history of the encoded data.
COSCO Shipping Lines are making novel use of blockchain technology. In partnership with GSBN, COSCO has launched a pilot program to issue traceable and verifiable green certificates using blockchain technology.
This initiative, part of COSCO's Hi ECO project, leverages biofuels made from renewable sources to reduce carbon emissions throughout the shipping process. The blockchain-based system ensures the integrity and traceability of green certificates, aligning with COSCO's commitment to sustainable practices.
By using blockchain, the program enhances trust among stakeholders by validating the authenticity of the certificates and documenting the biofuel procurement process. This initiative supports COSCO’s goal of providing eco-friendly logistics solutions and reducing the carbon footprint of freight transportation.
The upgrade to 5G paved the way for smart terminals of the future by allowing for data collection on a grand scale. Digital twin technology allows operators to exploit all of that data to run highly detailed, 3D simulations of terminal activity to improve decision-making, solve complex problems, and enable data-driven predictive planning.
In essence, the technology maps the output from a massively interconnected network of IoT sensors to a virtual version of the terminal. These sensors feed data from a myriad of real-time activities into the simulated terminal, allowing the virtual copy to behave similarly to the real thing.
With the simulated terminal, operators can run virtualized scenarios that wouldn’t be feasible in the real world, gaining valuable insight into possible and future operations.
The Danish Port of Esbjerg has deployed digital twin technology in collaboration with Moffatt & Nichol to significantly boost its offshore wind shipping capacity. This technology allows the port to simulate future projects and operations, enabling better decision-making and planning. With the digital twin, the port aims to increase its offshore wind capacity from 1.5 GW to 4.5 GW annually within the next two years.
Digital twin technology allows for unlimited experimentation using real-world data. It’s a virtual terminal laboratory, and as data quality and quantity improve, so will the results of these experiments.
Port and terminal automation is transforming the industry, addressing significant challenges like congestion, container management, environmental sustainability, and climate resilience. At Tideworks Technology, we are at the forefront of this transformation, providing innovative solutions like Mainsail 10 and Tideworks Data Platform to streamline operations and enhance decision-making.
Our technology not only improves efficiency and resource management but also ensures that your terminal operations are resilient and adaptable to changing conditions. Whether you’re looking to automate a part of your operation, or implement a new technology solution, we partner with our clients to ensure they are getting the most from their investment. We understand the complexities of the industry and are committed to helping you overcome these challenges and remain resilient.
If you're ready to improve your terminal operations, contact Tideworks Technology today.
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