Container Terminal

Processes at a container terminal

http://www.irisvis.nl/container/processes.html May 3, 2013

Processes at a container terminal

Figure 1: Processes at a container terminal Container ships are nowadays unloaded and loaded at large container terminals. Figure 1 illustrates the unloading and loading process at a typical container terminal. This loading and unloading process can be divided into different subprocesses, described below. When a ship arrives at the port, quay cranes (QCs) take the import containers off the ship's hold or off the deck. Next, the containers are transferred from the QCs to vehicles that travel between the ship and the stack. This stack consists of a number of lanes, where containers can be stored for a certain period. Equipments, like cranes or straddle carriers (SCs), serve the lanes. A straddle carrier can both transport containers and store them in the stack. It is also possible to use dedicated vehicles to transport containers. If a vehicle arrives at the stack, it puts the load down or the stack crane takes the container off the vehicle and stores it in the stack. After a certain period the containers are retrieved from the stack by cranes and transported by vehicles to transportation modes like barges, deep sea ships, trucks or trains. To load export containers onto a ship, these processes are also executed in reverse order. Most of the terminals make use of manned equipments, like straddle carriers, cranes and multi-trailer-systems. However, a few terminals, like some terminals in Rotterdam, are semi-automated. At such terminals Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) are used for the transport of containers. Furthermore, the stacking process can also be done automatically by Automated Stacking Cranes (ASCs). This page describes the different subprocesses and their corresponding types of material handling equipments in more detail.

Unloading and loading of the ship

Automated and manned terminals both use quay cranes. QCs are manned...