Conventional and Emerging Container Terminal Configurations

Conventional and Emerging Container Terminal Configurations

The introduction of container vessels meant larger cargo volumes per port call and shorter
handling times per ton. Both factors made direct transshipment no longer feasible as this would
require a large amount of trucks, barges and trains to be in place during the vessel’s short port
stay. Due to congestion, capacity and availability of inland transportation containerization
contributed to a modal separation on terminals and the setting of a significant buffer in the
form of large stocking areas. Each transport mode received a specific area on the terminal, so
that operations on vessels, barges, trucks and trains could not obstruct one another. This modal
separation in space was a requirement for setting up a system of indirect transshipment
whereby each transport mode follows its own time schedule and operational throughput,
implying a modal separation in time.

Under the indirect transshipment system, the terminal stacking area functions as a buffer and
temporary storage area between the deepsea operations and the land transport operations
that take place later in the process. As a consequence, and in spite of higher turnover levels,
the space consumed by container terminals increased substantially. In turn, these space
requirements changed the geography of ports and the migration of terminals to new peripheral
sites.

The above figure depicts two port container terminal configurations; conventional and
emerging. The term emerging is used since it has not yet led to a definitive terminal
configuration since the impacts of automation are not fully implemented on terminal
operations. A large container terminal occupies a substantial area, mainly because of storage
 requirements, even if this storage is short term (3 to 5 days). To perform its operations, a
container terminal relies on an array of intermodal equipment, including straddle carriers,
gantry cranes and portainers. The main elements that compose a maritime container terminal
are:

 Docking area. Represents a berth where a containership can dock and have technical
specifications such as length and draft. A standard post-panamax containership requires about
325 meters of docking space as well as a draft of about 45 feet (13 meters). Some terminals
have separate facilities for handling barges (such as Antwerp and Rotterdam), although most
barges are handled alongside the deepsea quays.
 Container crane (Portainer). Represents the interface between the containership and the dock.
Cranes have technical specifications in terms of number of movements per hour, maximum
weight, and lateral coverage. A modern container crane can have a 18-20 wide coverage,
implying that it can service a containership having a width of 18 to 20 containers. A gantry
crane can perform about two movements (loading or unloading) per minute. The larger the
number of cranes assigned to the transshipment process the faster it can take place. However,
significant portside capabilities must be present to accommodate this throughput.
 Loading / unloading area. Directly adjacent to the piers and under the gantry cranes
(portainers), it is the zone of interaction between the cranes and the storage areas where
containers are either brought in to be lifted on the containership or unloaded to be
immediately picked up and brought to storage areas. This is mainly done with straddlers or
holsters. In the case of straddlers, the containers are left on the ground while with holsters the
containers are loaded from or unloaded to a chassis. The usage of straddlers is more common
as it enables to move a container directly from dockside to the stack (or vice versa), but
terminal automation has seen the introduction of automated holsters.
 Container storage. Represents a temporary buffer zone where containers are left while the
assigned containership is available to be loaded or while waiting to be picked up for inland
distribution. The larger the containerships handled by a port, the larger the required container
storage area. Container storage can be arranged by shipbound (export) and landbound (import)
stacks of containers. For shared terminal facilities, stacks can even be sub-divided according to
shippers. The stacking density of container storage varies depending on the selected
equipment. For linear layouts, containers are either stored on a chassis (rare for port terminals
but more common for rail terminals) or on linear stacks of 2 or 3 containers in height that can
be circulated over by straddle carriers. Block layouts are serviced by rubber-tired gantry
cranes or by rail-mounted (wide span) gantry cranes, enabling a higher storage density of at
least 4 containers across (7 or 8 for a wide span crane, if not more) and 5 full containers in
height. However, higher stacking densities are linked with additional repositioning and
rehandling of containers, requiring effective yard management systems. Rows of containers can
be parallel or perpendicular to piers depending on the configuration and operations of the
terminal. Most terminals have a dedicated reefers (refrigerated containers) storage area where
they can be plugged, which represents about 5% of a terminal’s stacking area. Specific storage
areas are also attributed to empties, which can be stacked up to 7 or 8 containers in height due
to less stringent weight limitations. Empty container stacks are therefore easily recognizable
from loaded container stacks because of different stacking configurations; empty stacks are
 higher and denser. For terminals facing capacity pressures, the tendency has been to have
empty container depots outside terminal facilities.
 Gate. The terminal’s entry and exit point able to handle in many cases up to 25 trucks at once
for a large terminal facility. The gate is where the truck driver presents proper documentation
(bill of lading) for pick up or delivery. Most of the inspection is done remotely with cameras and
intercom systems where an operator can remotely see for instance the container identification
number and verify if it corresponds to the bill of lading. Modern management systems no
longer require paperwork since all the documentation is kept in an electronic format
interchangeable through secure connections. The priority is to verify the identify of the truck
driver, the truck, the container and the chassis. For a delivery, the truck is assigned to a specific
slot at the truck drop / pick-up area where the chassis holding the container will be left to be
picked up by a holster, a straddler or a gantry crane for more recent terminal designs. For a
pickup, the truck will be assigned to a slot in a waiting area while the container is been picked
up from a storage area, put on a chassis (if the truck does not bring its own chassis) and
brought to the proper slot. The truck will then head out of the terminal, be inspected to insure
that the right container has been picked up and head inland. If well managed (such as using an
appointment system), the container will already be available for pick up (on a chassis in the
truck drop / pick up area). However, delays for pick up can sometimes be considerable (hours)
when a large containership has just delivered a significant batch of containers and there is a
“rush” to be the first to pick them up. Therefore, substantial efforts have been made in recent
years by terminal operators to improve the throughput of terminal gates through better design
and with the application of information technologies.
 On-dock rail terminal. Many large container terminals have an adjacent rail terminal to which
they are directly connected to. This enable the composition of large containerized unit trains to
reach long distance inland markets through inland ports. An important advantage of on-dock
rail facilities compared with near-dock rail facilities is that the container does not require to
clear the gate of the marine terminal. In North America, since container unit trains can be very
long (longer than the container port terminal facility), segments are assembled in the port on-
dock rail facility and brought to a near-dock facility for full unit train assembly.
 Administration. The management facility of the terminal, often having a control tower to insure
a level of visibility of the whole terminal area. This is where many complex logistical functions
are performed such as the assignment of delivered containers to a storage space location as
well as the location and the loading or unloading sequence of containers by straddlers and
holsters. Additionally, the complex task of designing the loading and unloading sequence of a
containership is performed.
 Repair / maintenance. Area where the regular maintenance of the terminal’s heavy equipment
is performed.
 Chassis storage. Area where empty chassis are stored while waiting to be allocated to a truck or
a holster. While in North American terminals chassis storage can take a notable amount of
space because chassis are owned by pools, in the rest of the world trucking companies own the
chassis and bring them to the terminal. The outcome is less space allocated for chassis storage.
Usually, chassis are stored outside the terminal facility since chassis storage is a poor use of
valuable terminal real estate.
Although the function of both conventional and emerging container terminals are the same
(ship to shore transfers), their operations differ. In a conventional terminal, containers are
brought to a pickup / drop-off area where they will be moved to the stacking area by a holster
or a straddle carrier. Then, they will be brought quay-side by another holster or straddle carrier
when ready to be loaded unto a ship. The emerging container terminal relies on block layouts
that are perpendicular to the piers. On the gate side, stacks are serviced by trucks that have
their containers picked up by a gantry at the end of the stack, which is usually automated or
semi-automated. Containers are retrieved quay side by straddle carriers and brought under
portainers to be loaded unto a ship. The main differences between a conventional and
emerging container terminal configuration is the reduction of horizontal ground movements
and the removal of vehicles from the stacking areas, enabling a higher stacking density. Further,
emerging container terminals have a higher level of automation.

Areas nearby container terminals tend to have a high concentration of activities linked to
freight distribution such as distribution centers, empty container storage depots, trucking
companies and large retailers.