DP World Berbera will roll out a new Cargo Community System (CCS) to improve data exchange following the opening of a new container terminal earlier this year.
The new container terminal, with a deep draft of 17m and a quay of 400m, hosts three new Ship-to-Shore (STS) gantry cranes and eight Rubber-Tyred Gantry (RTG) cranes – and increases the Port’s container capacity from current 150,000 TEU to 500,000 TEU annually.
Phase two of the terminal’s development is now underway.
In an interview with PTI, Supachai Wattanaveerachai, CEO of DP World Berbera, said the CCS being developed in the second phase of its expansion will simplify data exchange amongst shipping lines and agents, customs, and other port stakeholders.
Connectivity
In meeting the increased digital demand the operator will introduce an automated gate system for the trucking community, using AI and IoT recognition for truck plate and container numbers.
“The automation improves the truck turnaround time by reducing manual administrative processing currently being done in pre-gate and gate-in,” the CEO noted.
The new container terminal is equipped with a full fibre-optic Local Area Network (LAN) and 5G outdoor wireless coverage in shore and yard activities, Wattanaveerachai said.
The terminal’s new integrated Terminal Performance Analyser system, a dashboard system determining a terminal’s KPIs, availability of resources and business activities, has “established visibility on [DP World’s] business units,” he noted.
The terminal will also benefit from cloud-based Zodiac Terminal Operating System (TOS), using new features Zodiac AI and Zodiac Expert to effectively forward operations for incoming cargo and reducing errors in the terminal yard.
Wattanaveerachai said the IT focus on the new terminal allows rapid response against disruptive supply chain events such as COVID-19, the Suez Canal incident, and Yantian Port crisis.
“Overall, having such an executive view, allows quick decision-making and agility to address any type of disruption to the supply chain to facilitate economic activities of the markets highly dependent on the port,” he said.
Expanding capacity
Wattanaveerachai believes the port’s expansion, combined with its special economic zone, also being developed will boost Berbera’s status “as a world-class trade center” in Horn of Africa region.
“Through the years, Somaliland has shown resilience and ambition to develop and grow since the civil war which peaked in the 90s. As a result, basic infrastructures such as seaport, and infrastructure networks remained underdeveloped,” he said.
“However, until the late 2000’s with the adoption of telecommunications, locals gained confidence in the use of technology that even majority of mobile subscribers opted to use mobile wallet for money remittance.”
Since DP World Berbera began operations in March 2017, throughput has increased by 35% and increased vessel productivity by 300%.
“This success is attributed to advanced planning using a fully automated system, enabling container distribution throughout the yard based on predefined rules to avoid inaccuracy of container positioning,” Wattanaveerachai explained.
“Aside from automated yard planning, the use of Electronic Data Interchange with shipping lines and customs, helps to eliminate paper processing, improve business cycle speed and enhance efficiency exchange with port community from mandatory pre-advice notification and operational plans.”
The further expansion of the port in the second phase will bring additional 600m quayside equipped with seven more STS gantry cranes.
These infrastructure investments, together with the new upgrades to the Zodiac TOS, will allow the terminal to handle up to 2 million TEU a year and operate multiple large container vessels simultaneously, improving vessel turnaround time and reducing carbon emissions, Wattanaveerachai said.
