Next Stop: Automated Container Terminals and Ports

How did ports become more automated? 

Ports from all over the world have always pushed ahead with technological progress. For example, ships in Gothenburg have been supplied with shore power since 1989, while Rotterdam put the world's first fully automated port terminal into operation in 1993. The Port of Hamburg is also a great example for the constant change and implementation of new technologies: The Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA) is one of the world's most modern container terminals. 

Let’s travel back a few centuries: Up until the 19th century, ships still had to be loaded and unloaded using muscle power, until industrialization gave rise to sophisticated cable winch technology. However, with the growth of cities and the increasing demand for resources, cranes with cable winches were used for the first time. More than 200 years ago ports relied on steam propulsion to stack sea freight on land. But then the world's first electrified harbor crane was born almost 150 years ago in today's HafenCity in Hamburg. 

The above-mentioned examples show that ports and port operations always strived to simplify processes and actively drive forward transformation strategies.  

Did you know, that the invention of the standardized container as we know it also played a big role in the automation of ports? Because of the new and globally applicable container format it was possible to create cranes and other equipment that could be used across all cargo types and hence, automate certain cargo handling processes.  

The advantages of automated ports 

An automated handling business is characterized by low costs and speed. This not only brings economic advantages, but also benefits employees. Work processes that previously involved heavy physical labor are now performed by machinery. As mentioned above, a great example for these advantages is the Terminal Altenwerder (CTA) in Hamburg, one of the world’s most modern container terminals, operated by Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) and Hapag-Lloyd AG: 

• Efficient control: TLS is software developed in-house by HHLA IT and is available to employees at the CTA control center. The operators use this to combine the handling and storage processes with the rail and road traffic throughout the terminal.  
• Automated transport: Gantry trolleys automatically accept containers and place them on an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV). These fully automated vehicles travel between the gantry cranes and the container warehouses – a specially developed software controls these processes and searches for the fastest route by itself. 
• Climate neutrality: Most of the terminal vehicles used in Altenwerder and the handling equipment are powered by green electricity. This has enabled the Container Terminal Altenwerder in Hamburg to be verified as the world's first climate-neutral handling facility for containers. 
• Optimized container storage: The 26 storage blocks in the Terminal Altenwerder are each handled in parallel by two gantry cranes on rails – they substitute for each other when maintenance is required. Towing vehicles transport the containers between the storage blocks and the railway station and ensure a smooth process.  
  

A prime example of port automation: The Terminal Altenwerder  

As you can see, the CTA has many advantages that help to further optimize container shipping. With this project, the utopia of automated ports has taken a significant step forward, with more to come in terms of modernization. 

Highly automated and specially developed work processes increase the efficiency of container handling on premises. The processes were tested using computer simulations (digital twins) before actually implementing them in the real port operations. The result: a complex facility with short distances and a clear layout that allows optimal use of the available space. 

IT systems take over the control of various elements – this enables transport orders to be processed on time with optimum utilization of all resources. With the help of more than 17,000 transponders, handling and storage processes can be combined with rail and road transport throughout the entire terminal. 

What does the future of automated ports look like? 

When it comes to digitalized and, above all, optimized processes, there is no way around the reduction of certain jobs. This applies, for example, to the people who sit in the cabs of container gantry cranes and load and unload ships in three-shift operations. With the automation of ports, these jobs are disappearing. However, people remain indispensable - where there is change, the creation of new areas of jobs is also one of the highest priorities. 

For that very reason, further education and training of employees continues to play a decisive role in the shipping industry. Soon, this will mean human-machine collaboration instead of competition: the automation of ports still requires workers who already have a specific knowledge of the processes and machines. 

Hapag-Lloyd is striving to drive digitalization and innovation forward 

Automated ports are already an integral part of container shipping today and you might have touchpoints with automated processes in your daily business as well. Thanks to modernization, Hapag-Lloyd can guarantee faster transportation, greater safety and fewer damaged goods – benefiting every involved party.   

Being part of CTA means being part of one of the most modern and efficient container terminals in the world. The interaction between humans and machines is already proving its worth for economic and innovative success – in the future, the importance of automation will increase even further and open new opportunities for employees, processes, and businesses alike.

In order to also innovate and automate other aspects of your daily work, we offer easy-to-use digital solutions in our Online Business Suite. In our fully integrated Business Suite you can manage your entire shipping process from Quotation to Tracking in just a few clicks.