Selecting the most appropriate container handling infrastructure for Durban Container Terminal

Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) is investing 33 billion rand to improve the infrastructure at terminals over the next seven years and the bulk of this expenditure will be invested in Durban Container Terminal (DCT). A plan to boost productivity to 3.3 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) per year at Pier 2 in DCT is targeted (Transnet Port Terminals, 2012). To achieve this target, advanced container handling infrastructure will need to be introduced. Seven new Zhenhua Port Machinery Company (ZPMC) ship-to-shore cranes have already been purchased for Pier 2 at DCT. Greve (2013), states that these cranes are expected to improve gross crane moves per hour (GCH) from 26 GCH to 33 GCH. An in-depth literature review was conducted to examine various ports around the world and the type of technology that is currently being used before investigating the most appropriate container handling infrastructure for the Port of Durban (POD). Future plans for the POD were also taken into consideration. This study established that the two most common pieces of equipment used for container handling in ports around the world are Straddle Carriers (SC) and Rubber Tyred Gantries (RTG). This is largely due to their flexibility and efficiency. Rail Mounted Gantries (RMG) were discussed very briefly, however were not considered as an option for DCT due to their exorbitant costs to construct, operate and maintain as well as the type of layout of the Port. The production outputs for Pier 1 and Pier 2 were obtained and reviewed to assist in selecting the most efficient piece of equipment from ship to shore. The world is currently leaning towards an environmentally friendly era therefore other options such as Electric-Rubber Tyred Gantries (E-RTG) and Automated Straddle Carriers (ASC) were considered in this study. The government’s National Development Plan (NDP) was then reviewed to determine if automation would be a viable option, considering the vision that South Africa (SA) has in reducing the rate of unemployment by 2030. A visual assessment was carried out and the results were analyzed based on an evaluation of the current pavement to determine whether or not it would be sufficient to carry the loading of the proposed container handling options. An investigation was carried out to determine the possible causes of damaged panels that were discovered during the assessment and alternative solutions were proposed for repair. To stimulate this study the author has presented papers in various renowned journals and conference proceedings. In conclusion, this study deduced that the most appropriate container handling infrastructure would be manual handling RTGs due to their flexibility, reliability, cost effectiveness and efficiency.