China's first fully-automated sea terminal

The first fully-automated sea terminal in China, opened in Xiamen in 2011, is expected to process over 1.5 million containers this year, a new annual record and an increase of 40 percent year-on-year, according to Xiamen Daily on Oct 25.

Located in the Haicang port area of Amoy Harbor in Fujian province, the Xiamen Ocean Gate Automated Container Terminal's handling capacity has seen rapid increase in the past six years.

In 2012, 300,000 containers were processed by the automated terminal. In 2016 the terminal's container handling capacity reached 1.13 million containers.

In the first 10 months of this year, 1.28 million containers have been processed at the terminal, exceeding last year's annual handling capacity and the terminal is estimated to handle 1.5 million containers this year to help Amoy Harbor surpass 10 million containers processed in a year.

The three berths at the automated terminal lead the world in its industry for intelligence, stability, safety and environmental protection.

The automated terminal is equipped with the latest technologies and facilities such as cloud computing, wireless communication, automatic navigation and location, intelligent identification, and unmanned automatic equipment.

The functions of terminals, such as loading, unloading, and stockpiling containers, are completed by automated machines which are controlled by computers in the terminal's central control room.

Compared to traditional container terminals, the automated terminal achieves a 20 percent cut in carbon emissions and an over 20 percent cut in operating costs.

The Xiamen Ocean Gate Automated Container Terminal is an important example of technological innovation and represents the development trend in global terminals, according to the head of the Xiamen Ocean Gate Automated Container Terminal.

He added that fully-automated terminal technology has been introduced to foreign ports following Amoy Harbor's example.