Cargotec envisages game-changing 'Port 2060'

The project was devised to spark discussion within the container terminal operations sector and to try and anticipate the challenges and solutions that will be relevant to containerisation as it approaches its centenary around 2060. To kick-start the process, Cargotec employees were invited to engage in 'outof- the-box thinking', and to assess what technologies, processes and concepts might underpin the future of containerisation. This exercise is part of our ongoing drive to enhance our customers' operational performance, as we believe now is the time to start preparing for the future together.

After reading a reference book on the first 50 years of containerisation, I started to reflect on how far the business had come since the dawn of containerisation in the early 1960s. This book made me realise that the big picture is a long-term thing, yet it is so easy to get stuck in the problems of the short term. Out of this basic premise, Port 2060 was born. The idea of the project is to be totally open minded; to encourage everyone - both inside and outside of the industry - to look forward, to imagine and get inspired. No idea is too big or too small, as the simplest of ideas can lead to the most influential of changes.

In my view there will be a number of key ‘drivers’ over the next five decades. One will be the increased use of IT to achieve more intelligent control. The increased use of technology, which is both environmentally sustainable and energy saving, is another area where imagination and innovation will yield results. Furthermore, there will be many more new materials and technologies which will be available and which could be harnessed. The shipping industry will inevitably have to rely to some extent on the R&D capabilities of other sectors, such as the automobile, defence and aeronautical industries, as it does not have the size to justify the massive investment in R&D that these sectors can sustain. The container handling industry is, though, not isolated, and is able to test, copy and adapt technology originally developed for other industries.

Unveiled at this year’s TOC Europe event in Antwerp, Cargotec's initial Port 2060 vision suggests that over the next few decades cargo handling technology will keep evolving and take different forms. Nonetheless the basic building block of the industry, the humble shipping container, will remain more or less the same, and will continue to have a crucial role in keeping cargo moving around the world.

By 2060, the company says, mega ports will be located offshore on artificial islands where their layouts can be optimised. These ports will be supported by floating feeder/river terminals that can be moved around in line with changing demands.

The container itself will remain in use, based on the same compact, standardised format. But different materials might be used to construct containers, they could be foldable and may have inbuilt intelligence to communicate destination, contents and journey details.

One of the most interesting ideas generated by the Port 2060 project is that fully automatic lashing systems could form container 'blocks' with up to 64 containers in a single moveable unit. Container crane lift capacities could increase from around 40-100 tonnes today to 1,000-2,000 tonnes, in order to handle these container packages in a single lift.

Container storage may be undertaken in terminals located in underground silos, as land will be at a premium by 2060. An automated tracking system will locate and store containers as required in these terminals, which will be powered sustainably by solar panels located on top of the silos.

While some current containership designs will still be in operation, the majority of container vessels of the future will be fully automated, or with a very small crew, and will incorporate numerous energy saving features, including solar technology, Cargotec suggests. They will also be designed so that a container block can be separated from the vessels if needed, allowing them to then pick up another cargo block and sail on.

One of the most startling concepts generated by Port 2060 to date is 'flying spreaders', using nano-fibre technology that, by then, will have replaced steel wiring. Feeder vessels will be loaded in part by these flying spreaders, facilitating last minute loading changes.

Within the Port 2060 environment, automation is virtually the sole mode of operation. Artificial Intelligence (AI), widely used in daily life in 2060, will monitor port processes, thereby optimising performance.

Cargo handling systems will use alternative energy sources or electric drives, and wheels will have been replaced by air cushion or magnetic levitation technologies. Handling equipment will have its own 'consciousness', allowing it to monitor wear and tear, and will be able to order its own maintenance and repairs remotely. Landside handling equipment will be made up of universal modules that are fully interchangeable between different types of equipment, and will be tailored, using special software solutions.

Cargotec is inviting companies and individuals involved in the container transportation business to join the discussion about ports of the future. A dedicated web page has been set up (www.cargotec.com/port2060), where visitors can view a short video setting out some of the futuristic concepts and leave their own comments and suggestions.

One of the first to set out a vision within the 2060 framework is Karolina Loikkanen, director, Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) at Cargotec. Her view of the future is one where environmental sustainability is an “unremarkable part of everyday life, as well as an inseparable part of normal shipping and cargo handling operations.”

She says: “A few decades ago it used to be special that you had an unleaded car, or that your fridge was ‘CFC free’. In the same way that these more environmentally friendly ways of operating have become so normal as to be unremarkable, the world of shipping in 2060 will be environmentally sustainable, so we will not be able to separate sustainability from the normal way of working.”

By 2060, Ms Loikkanen expects environmentally harmful emissions to be a thing of the past, and shipping will be recognised as the most reliable, cheap and efficient form of global cargo transportation.

More intelligent systems will enable ships to adapt and utilise surrounding conditions, such as changing wind and currents, and will be integral to minimising environmental impact. Advances in artificial intelligence and automated systems will also mean that cargo can be tracked and managed more accurately and efficiently, with port-side traffic jams consigned to history.

She also sees more automated systems, in combination with the offshore relocation of ports, as having socio-economic benefits for port communities. “Large industrial ports can restrict and cramp sustainable residential growth,” Ms Loikkanen points out, “but by 2060, the relocation of ports to offshore zones will reduce land-bound traffic. This will allow for continuous spatial planning and more controlled urbanisation, ultimately increasing the possibilities for developing more socio-economically sustainable residential zones.” Ms Loikkanen recognises that some companies have already taken huge steps towards developing more environmentally friendly practices, but believes that further progress is inevitable. She adds: “The most developed technology in the future will be born through different industries, competencies and companies coming together to find solutions which are adaptable to multiple industries. I hope that the Port 2060 project might be the beginning of just such a fruitful collaboration.”

Finally I would like to highlight the potential for this initiative to be a launch pad for greater collaboration both within the container industry, and between containerisation and other sectors. We have no expectations, no boundaries; we just want people to open their minds and start dreaming. You never know what we might come up with together!