ENGINEERINGNET.EU -- APM Terminals is building a new container terminal at Maasvlakte II in the Port of Rotterdam opening in November 2014. The company announces what it calls ‘a quantum leap umprovement in automating container yard operations’.
“Too often, quayside crane productivity is hampered by container yard activities not keeping pace,” says Frank Tazelaar, Managing Director for APM Terminals Maasvlakte II.
“We have designed the new terminal to serve the largest containerships in the world with higher productivity and service levels. Our estimates show we can deliver 25-50% productivity improvement results vs conventional terminal designs.”
The new terminal design concept is based on using ship-to-shore (STS) cranes that unload containers from the vessel and place them directly onto a fleet of Lift Automated Guided Vehicles (Lift AGVs).
The Lift AGVs can carry two containers at a time and shuttle them at a speed of 22 kilometers per hour from the quay to the container yard using an onboard navigation system that follows a transponder grid.
Once the Lift AGV arrives at its programmed destination it lifts the containers into a series of storage racks.
Next, an Automated Rail-Mounted Gantry (ARMG) crane arrives to take the container from the rack to its next designated location which could be to the rail terminal, a trucker or stacking it somewhere else in the container yard.
The ability to lift the container off the vehicle and place it into a storage rack system is the first of its kind in the world. APM Terminals Maasvlakte II is also the first terminal in the world to be equipped with Lift AGVs.
Civil construction activities are planned to start in June 2012. The arrival of the first set of Lift AGV vehicles, built in Germany by Gottwald Port Technology, a subsidiary of Demag Cranes, is planned for Q1 2013 after which thorough testing and integration with other container handling equipment will start.
(picture: APV Terminals)
