Evergreen Marine Corp. (EMC) recently held an official opening ceremony for the newly built Terminal 7 at Kaohsiung Port. With the vision of new opportunities for the port and the provision of substantial enhancements to trade, the smart terminal is expected to drive ongoing growth of shipping-related industries within southern Taiwan. The event was presided over by EMC’s Chairman, Y.I. Chang, and President, Eric Hsieh. A host of local government officials and distinguished guests were also in attendance.
Evergreen Marine worked closely with Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC) to develop Terminal 7. The new facility is considered the most important project that Taiwan’s shipping industry has undertaken in recent years. TIPC was responsible for the construction of the port infrastructure. At the same time, Evergreen invested in operating systems and handling equipment such as ship-to-shore (STS) gantry cranes, automated rail-mounted gantry cranes (ARMGC), reach stackers and side loaders.
In line with the trend of the global container shipping industry and the operation demands of mega container ships, Terminal 7 is equipped with five berths with a draft of 18 meters, a quay length of 2,415 meters, and 24 STS gantry cranes, including 19 remote-controlled ones. Among them, 16 gantry cranes are 55.5 meters high and can handle ultra-large container ships with 25 rows of containers on deck, effectively improving the quayside operation efficiency.
The five berths of Terminal 7 will be inaugurated in two phases. Currently, Berth S5, S4 and S3B have become operational while Berth S1, S2 and S3A are scheduled to commence operations in July 2024. When fully operated next year, Terminal 7 will allow four 24,000 TEU container ships and two feeder vessels to berth simultaneously. With a yard area of 149 hectares, the facility can store 89,238 TEU of laden containers and 43,656 TEU of empty containers.
As the first and largest fully-automated container terminal equipped with remote-controlled gantry cranes in Taiwan, Terminal 7 can significantly improve the efficiency of container handling operations. Over the long term, the terminal will achieve an annual handling volume of 6.5 million TEU.
In his remarks at the opening ceremony, EMC Chairman Y.I. Chang said, “In line with the trend of the international shipping industry and the operational demand of mega container ships, Evergreen consolidated the cargo handling services in Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 of Kaohsiung Port and moved the operations to the advanced Terminal 7, removing the trucking demand to haul containers between the two separate terminals and cutting carbon emissions from such transportation. We made a significant investment in automatic and energy-saving equipment. Also, we launched “Containerlink”, an online platform that improves service quality by integrating truck appointments for cargo delivery/pickup, container yard operation and digital payment systems.”
Chairman Chang added, “By building the new automatic quayside operations and the unmanned yard in Terminal 7, we can provide more efficient, eco-friendly service to our customers and offer a better working environment for local employees, taking yet another step toward our goal of sustainable operations.”
Setting a goal to build a fully automated container centre, Evergreen has installed 24 STS gantry cranes, including 19 remote-controlled ones, 60 automated unmanned rail-mounted gantry cranes (ARMGC) and 24 smart gates in Terminal 7. With the introduction of 5G communication systems, optical fibre connectivity, and Internet of Things (IoT) information networks covering the entire site, together with Evergreen’s intelligent terminal operating system (EMCTOS), optical character recognition (OCR) technology and real-time power consumption monitoring system, Evergreen can effectively coordinate port operations and improve the efficiency of container yard, making Terminal 7 of Kaohsiung Port one of the most advanced container hubs in the world.
Evergreen embraces the core values of pursuing corporate sustainability and building a green supply chain. To that end, Terminal 7 utilizes various intelligent technologies and automated equipment, all in line with global carbon reduction initiatives. For example, all gantry cranes at Terminal 7 are electric-powered and reach stackers and side loaders are equipped with high-standard, eco-friendly engines. In addition, Containerlink connects the data flow of the container service chain in real-time and enables customers to use the online platform to create truck appointments. This boosts the efficiency of the container yard by reducing vehicle turn-around time and eliminates the need for document printing, thereby cutting fuel consumption and carbon emissions. These efforts significantly enhance Evergreen’s continual commitment to protecting the environment, from sea to land and within our hardware and software.
Evergreen expects to continue these ongoing efforts to provide the best service to cargo owners and enhance market competitiveness. Along with these new capabilities at Terminal 7 in Kaohsiung Port, Evergreen Group currently operates dedicated terminals in Los Angeles, Oakland and Tacoma on the US West Coast; the Colon Container Terminal (CCT) in Panama; Tokyo and Osaka in Japan; Kaohsiung Taichung and Taipei Port in Taiwan; and Laem Chabang in Thailand.
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