Terex Port Solutions is to automate a straddle carrier fleet for Ports of Auckland Ltd in New Zealand
POAL announced its intention to automate part of its straddle carrier fleet earlier this year based on a concept revealed a year earlier.
By mid-2019, TPS will supply a total of 27 new, fully automated N SC 644 E (1 over 3) machines to work in the POAL yard and to serve trucks. At the same time, 21 existing manual straddle carriers are being upgraded so that they can work hand in hand with the 27 fully automated machines. In addition to the supply and upgrade of the vehicles, the order also includes all sub-systems and software systems required for operation. Before POAL placed the order, TPS verified the feasibility and safety of the concept in a detailed study.
POAL currently operates a fleet of Terex N SC 634 E diesel-electric straddle carriers and is pursuing a two-part strategy that includes the automation initiative and a step towards higher stacking capability which will deliver a medium-term increase in capacity from today’s 900,000 TEU to 1.6M-1.7M TEU. Tony Gibson, CEO Ports of Auckland Ltd.: “Due to community concerns, we cannot increase capacity at our container terminal through reclamation, so the only way is up. In future, we will use 1-over-3 straddle carriers in the container yard to increase capacity.
"Automated straddle carriers also offer a number of other benefits: They are inherently safer, as there is no human on board; they deliver a positive environmental impact as they will consume up to 10% less fuel and produce lower emissions; they will be quieter and need less light on the terminal, reducing both noise and light pollution. Overall, automation offers us safety, environmental, community and capacity benefits.”
In future, POAL will only use the existing 1-over-2 machines for horizontal container transport between ship-to-shore cranes and the storage area, which will help POAL maintain its currently high levels of productivity.
The subsystems being supplied by TPS include the TBA TEAMS fleet management system, the Navimatic navigation system based on a terrestrial system and its corresponding antennae to determine the position of the vehicles. TEAMS and Navimatic, already implemented on several occasions by TPS in major terminals for automated operations in the past, have now been adapted to the specific requirements of straddle carriers to control the automated operations in Auckland.
TPS will also supply the interchange and fence control system, safety-relevant vehicle control systems and various sensor systems that will enable smooth interplay between the automated vehicles and manual straddle carriers, as well as other functions operated by staff in the terminal.
This is TPS's first contract for automated straddle carriers. A customer in the US may be next.
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