Ports of Auckland gears toward automation

In addition to launching a project to partially automate its container terminal, which will drastically increase the terminal’s handling capacity, the Ports of Auckland formed an alliance with Napier Port.    The Ports of Auckland is launching a project to partially automate its container terminal, which will make it the first New Zealand port and only the third straddle carrier terminal in the world to be automated, the Ports of Auckland said.
   Once complete in 2019, this stage of automation will increase its terminal capacity from just over 900,000 TEUs a year to 1.6-1.7 million TEUs a year, Ports of Auckland CEO Tony Gibson said.   
   Although the automated straddle carriers will operate on the truck grid and in the yard, where the work is less complex, stevedores will continue to drive straddles between the container yard and the ship-to-shore cranes.
   Automated straddle carriers use less fuel, require less maintenance and repair, require less lighting, can operate more quietly and provide greater safety, the Ports of Auckland said.
   Currently, the Ports of Auckland operates a fleet of 13-meter tall manual straddle carriers, which can stack containers up to three high, while the automated straddle carriers will stand 15.8 meters tall and will be able to stack containers up to four high.
   “This is a game changer for us,” Gibson said. “We need more container terminal capacity but we can’t expand through reclamation, so we have to go up. Automation allows us to do that safely and efficiently.”
   In addition, just last week, Ports of Auckland and Napier Port unveiled their newly established strategic alliance, which they said will allow them to work together to find ways to optimize services for freight customers and achieve further scale and efficiencies in the supply chain.
   “We share a similar way of working, common customers and supply chain opportunities, and have similar ownership structures, so that’s a great base to work from,” Gibson said.