APM Terminals is building a new container terminal at Maasvlakte II in the Port of Rotterdam, opening in November 2014, that will feature container-handling equipment for horizontal transport of containers that offers higher productivity levels and is the safest and most advanced equipment of its kind in the world.
The terminal design concept is based on using ship-to-shore (STS) cranes that unload containers from the vessel and place them directly onto a fleet of Lift Automated Guided Vehicles (Lift AGVs). The Lift AGVs can carry two containers at a time and shuttle them at a speed of 22 kilometres per hour from the quay to the container yard using an onboard navigation system that follows a transponder grid. Once the Lift AGV arrives at its programmed destination it lifts the containers into a series of storage racks. Next, an Automated Rail-Mounted Gantry (ARMG) crane arrives to take the container from the rack to its next designated location: the rail terminal, a trucker or stacking elsewhere in the container yard. For the first phase of the Maasvlakte II terminal, the fleet will consist of 36 Lift AGVs in combination with 128 storage racks.
According to APM, the ability to lift the container off the vehicle and place it into a storage rack system will be the first of its kind in the world. In the past, AGVs could not perform this action. The Lift AGV consists of two lift platforms, which are able to load and unload containers independently of each other. APM Terminals Maasvlakte II will the first terminal in the world equipped with Lift AGVs.
APM Terminals Maasvlakte II chose the Lift AGV based on the high levels of productivity and safety, while maintaining low costs of ownership. They are built in Germany by Gottwald Port Technology, a subsidiary of Demag Cranes who have a proven track record in the development of automated container handling equipment. The vehicles, measuring 15 metres long and 3 metres wide, are powered by diesel-electric motors. These fuel-efficient and low-noise diesel engines meet the latest and strictest European exhaust gas standards. Design engineers are also studying the feasibility of making the Lift AGVs 100 percent electrical-powered, which will enable further reduction in emissions and noise levels.
