A Comparative Study on Two Types of Automated Container Terminal Systems

This paper introduces a new type of automated container terminal system, which utilizes multistory frame bridges and rail-mounted trolleys to transport containers between the quay and the yard. For this new design concept, this paper makes an explorative study to identify the challenges and opportunity for it to be applied in transshipment hubs. We compare the transport efficiency and stacking capacity between this new system and the widely used AGV-based system. Several analytical models and performance measures are proposed for the quantitative comparisons between these two ACT systems. Note to Practitioners-Automated Container Terminal (ACT) is a popular topic among port operators. Industrial practitioners have proposed various alternative ACT designs. One of the new designs we observed in China utilizes frame bridges and rail mounted trolleys to transport containers between quay side and yard side. In this design, containers are first transported from vessels to frame trolleys mounted on frame bridges using normal quay cranes; then, by using a new machine which can lift a container and rotate it by 90 degrees, the containers are moved from the frame trolleys to ground trolleys (GTs) at the ground level. Using the GTs, the containers are delivered to yard cranes near their allocated storage locations. This study explores this new ACT design concept, and could help port operators who are interested in building new automated terminals, to better understand the relative merits of this new design and decide whether it is applicable in their terminals.