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Tianjin port wants to fully automate its
dock operations
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Ports look to build supply chain resilience
after Covid
Tianjin Port Source: Bloomberg
By Bloomberg News
One of the world’s biggest ports is working
to fully automate all dock operations in a bid to cope with Covid-induced
supply-chain disruptions and labor shortages.
China’s northern Tianjin port is looking to
develop a “digital twin” in three to five years, Yang
Jiemin, vice president of parent Tianjin
Port Group Co., told reporters this week.
“All ports globally should move toward
being more intelligent, eco-friendly and efficient,” he said.
Tianjin port is working with Huawei
Technologies Co. and others to tackle challenges facing the port sector,
including how to make supply chains more resilient, Yang said.
Huawei is aiding that initiative with its
expertise in communications technologies, artificial intelligence, and
autonomous driving, he said. The company will install software and sensors on autonomous
vehicles, provide wireless technology to guide vehicles on roads, and work with
telecom companies to supply fast and reliable network connections, according to
Huawei.
Covid disruptions and labor unrest led to
congestion at ports around the world last year and a jump in shipping rates.
And China is now grappling with a pivot from Covid Zero that has unleashed a surge
of infections and caused tens of thousands of deaths.
Robots are already at work picking up and
dropping off containers at a smart terminal co-built by Huawei that began
operations in 2021, and requires just 25% of the human workforce needed to run neighboring
docks. The terminal is also fully driverless.
Operators at Tianjin port — one of the
world’s largest by container volume — have struggled to find and retain truck
drivers to load and unload containers at its terminals, said York Yuekun,
Huawei’s chief technology officer for smart roads, waterways and ports.
Tianjin port handles ore, coal, oil, cars
and other commodities besides containers. It’s a popular port for cruises in
northern China, and a leasing hub for aircraft and ships. Its container throughput
exceeded 21 million TEUs last year, according to the latest government work
report.
Port automation emerged in the early 1990s
as global trade surged, and facilities worldwide have since invested to
automate at least part of their terminal operations, according to McKinsey
& Co. China has rolled out policies to facilitate development of smart
ports since at least 2017, with major players like Shanghai and Qingdao ports
opening their first automated docks that year.
For Huawei, the Tianjin port partnership
signals a push to develop new lines of business after U.S. tech export
restrictions gutted its smartphone business and curbed the sale of advanced
gear in developed markets.
The company has ventured into developing
smart solutions to facilitate digitization of traditional businesses like ports
and mines, utilizing homegrown 5G and artificial intelligence technologies —along
with the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, China’s alternative to GPS — to
help tackle worker safety, employee shortages and cost issues.
— With assistance by Allen K Wan and Amanda
Wang
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