Qingdao Port: a Chinese model for the construction and operation of the intelligent port of the future

News provided by

Information Office of the People's Government of Shandong Province

Jul 18, 2021, 21:49 ET

QINGDAO, China, July 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2021 Qingdao Multinationals Summit (QMS) kicked off in Qingdao on July 15. Themed "Multinational Companies and China", the summit focused on discussing the important role of multinational companies in reshaping the global industrial chain system and facilitating the connection between those companies and Chinese markets. Given the context, the Publicity Department of Shandong Provincial Party Committee organized interviews between journalists from foreign media organizations and executives of Shandong Port Group, the operator of Qingdao Port, as well as tours of the port's facilities. Nearly 20 members of the media, including journalists from Austria, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea and Spain, among other countries, visited and viewed the port's fully automated container terminal, where they were able to get a close look at some world-first technologies around the loading and unloading of containers.

Qingdao Port: a Chinese model for the construction and operation of the intelligent port of the future

Qingdao Port's fully automated container terminal is the world's most advanced of its kind due to its high degree of automation, as well as the terminal with the fastest loading and unloading efficiency, and Asia's first totally automated such facility. The single-machine operating rate averaged 36.2 units per hour and peaked at 47.6 units for fully automated operation, comprehensively surpassing traditional ports powered by manual labor and more than 50% higher than similar automated terminals in other countries. Current projects, once completed, will yield six fully automated berths. The terminal occupies a water frontage of 2,088 meters, a depth in front of the quay of 20 meters, and a docking capacity for handling container ships carrying in the aggregate 24,000 TEUs. With a designed annual throughput of 5.2 million TEUs, it is one of the largest automated terminals in the world.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the advantages of the automated container terminal came to the fore, with a 36% year-on-year rise in operation throughput without human drivers, no personnel contact throughout the whole process and achievement of an average efficiency of 47.6 TEUs moved per hour for a single crane, setting a new world record for the sixth time.

In June 2021, the world's first demonstration model of an intelligent air rail collection and distribution system was put into operation, representing another breakthrough for the technology deployed at Qingdao Port.

From concept to operation, the Port was independently designed and built by the engineers at Shandong Port Group. Dubbed the "Qingdao Model", the port is now serving as an example of what can be achieved in port operations, while the lineup of benefits as a result of this accomplishment is impressive: low operations cost, short cycle, high efficiency, full intelligence, higher safety and zero emissions.

SOURCE Information Office of the People's Government of Shandong Province