Port Consultancy

Now more than ever, the future of terminal management systems is focused on advancements in technology, especially regarding the topics of Digital Twin, AI, and automation. The rise of Digital Twin technology marks a significant evolution in terminal operation, driven by the need for improved performance, efficiency and safety.

Today, most container terminals worldwide still have a fully manual operation for the yard, quay and transport. However, labour shortages and environmental considerations have made automation increasingly attractive. Container terminals would also like to increase their capacity and efficiency on the existing footprint. This means operators are looking into automation to increase their throughput capacity and to be less affected by labour shortages.

As the maritime industry adapts to the era of automation, the horizontal transport component of port operations becomes a focal point. Efficient container handling is crucial for port operations and development, yet the complexity of both quayside and landside operations presents unique challenges for automation.

The concept of redefining the roles of sellers and buyers, producers and consumers, is not new. Marshall McLuhan famously stated that the “medium is the message”, referring to the television industry in the 1960s. His theories on electronic communication highlighted the shift in power between producers and consumers, suggesting that the television audience was the content consumed by advertisers.

Automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) are a proven automated transport system for container terminals. Since the introduction in 1993 at ECT in the Port of Rotterdam, AGVs have been used at more than 10 sites across the world. Currently, AGVs are there with the most successful automated transport system in container terminals. AGVs are reliable and can support high Quay Crane (QC) productivity In addition, battery AGVs have been available since 2012, supporting zero-emission terminals.

Container terminals are living ecosystems built over complex and large infrastructures with several parties interacting in a coordinated way to offer highly complex logistic services under strict operational planning and tight cost controls. Due to the port and shipping industry’s competitiveness, challenging requirements, and demanding needs, operations within a container terminal must be accurately carried out to achieve high operational efficiency, while also ensuring safety, sustainability, reliability, and profitability.

Transportation is one of the world's largest contributors to global emissions, hence climate change. Since the introduction of the container, global trade has taken unprecedented growth, fostered by ever decreasing costs. At the tip of our fingers, the global shopping window is exposing itself to the global consumer.

Identifying and weeding out waste in your supply chain is not only paramount for sustainability but also for bolstering your bottom line. At its core, a sustainable supply chain is centred around achieving greater results with less resource usage. With that goal in mind, optimising your operations is a necessity.

We have been involved in port master planning for many years, including design and asset management for Ro-Ro, cruise and container terminals, as well as across the wider mixed economy of port operations. Our ports and maritime team have been working with owners and operators worldwide to accommodate larger vessels, upgrade dockside technology and enhance operational efficiency.

It wasn’t long ago that a single shipping container required a new set of paper documents for every part of the supply chain it passed through. Perhaps every country, too. Put this into the context of a modern port terminal such as Antwerp Gateway in Belgium, which has an annual throughput of 2.8 million TEU, and you can start to picture the complexity and how time-consuming that would be on a global scale.