The Chinese technology powering Yangshan Port

Driving from Lin'gang New Area, part of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, across the 32.5-meter-long Donghai Bridge, Yangshan Port leaps into view. Giant cargo ships sit at the dockside, as neat rows of gantry cranes move along rails to lift and lower containers of every color — continuously loading and unloading, in order to keep daily goods and industrial products moving to every corner of the globe.
 

In 2021, Yangshan Port registered a container throughput of 22.81 million twenty-foot equivalent units, up 12.8 percent from the previous year. This helped the Port of Shanghai, of which Yangshan Port is a part, to record a throughput of more than 47 million TEUs, keeping it first in the world for the 12th year running.
 

As the world's largest and most intelligent automated container terminal, Yangshan Phase IV alone registered an annual throughput of more than 5.7 million TEUs for the first time.
 

"The core technology of Yangshan Phase IV is 100 percent Chinese-made. Though many of our technologies lead the world, we feel that there is always more to be done, as hard work and innovation offer unlimited potential," said Gu Zhihua, manager of the information technology department for the Yangshan Phase IV Terminal under Shanghai International Port Group.
 

Yangshan Phase IV's big data analysis and intelligent decision-making platform officially went live at the end of 2020. The platform enables the terminal's intelligent control system to continually conduct high-volume testing and system optimization in the virtual space, thus making the port's "brain" even smarter and more efficient.
 

On Dec 23, 2021, Yangshan Phase IV broke yet another record when it posted a throughput of 25,488 TEUs in a 24-hour period.
 

At Yangshan Port, a string of industry-leading pilot projects have continued to blossom and bear fruit. These include SIPG's ultra-remote intelligent command and control center and a fleet of 5G driverless trucks.
 

In 2022, the port will complete full research and development upgrades for its core technologies, which feature completely independent intellectual property, thus providing a further boost to efficiency at the terminal.
 

At SIPG's production division headquarters, smart screens display the operations of each terminal in real time. Yang Yanbin, deputy general manager of SIPG's production division, explained that this was the digital platform for smart port operations that SIPG had developed in response to COVID-19. The vessel plan for Yangshan Port has been pushed out from 48 to 72 hours, which has improved the predictability of port operations. The Phase I, II, and III terminals have adopted a new shared-stacking work model for adjacent docks to further improve the efficiency of container stack yards and trucks.
 

While improving its operational and management capabilities, the port has also improved its overall service capacity. In 2022, SIPG will finish construction on the Shanghai Port empty container transportation center for the Northeast Asian region in Yangshan Port, built in partnership with several international liner companies.

"This is a brand-new experiment. We are willing to work with other shipping companies to improve efficiency, strengthen container turnover, and overcome the seasonal shortages arising from the imbalance between the import and export of containers. At the same time, we are able to provide a full range of services, including container repair, washing, inspection and dispatch," said Chen Wei, assistant general manager of the production department of SIPG.
 

Yangshan Port is also striving to promote green and low-carbon development of the port and shipping sector. On March 15, it became the first Chinese port to complete the ship-to-ship refueling of an international vessel with bonded liquefied natural gas, while simultaneously carrying out cargo operations. Yangshan Port is now one of the few ports in the world capable of providing ship-to-ship simultaneous LNG refueling services. This will make it more attractive for international dual-fuel ships to dock at Shanghai Port and boost the competitiveness of Shanghai as an international shipping hub.
 

In September 2021, SIPG officially opened its new port in Haifa, Israel, the first new terminal to open in the country for 60 years. The terminal replicates the technological highlights of Yangshan Phase IV, and marks the first time that a Chinese enterprise has exported "smart port "technology and management expertise to a developed country.
 

SIPG plans to use the cooperative venture to better integrate its operations with the Belt and Road Initiative, developing the new Haifa port as an important hub for connecting Northeast Asia with the Middle East and Europe.
 

In 2021, taking advantage of the policies of the Lin'gang New Area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, the port launched a new cargo relay pilot scheme. A more intelligent, more efficient, and greener Yangshan Port is helping to propel the international shipping hub of Shanghai toward a more crucial role on the global stage.

Source: China Daily

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