Major China port banks on automation to beat Covid-19 disruptions
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Shipping containers stacked at Nanjing port in Jiangsu province on Jan 3, 2023.
PHOTO: AFP
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BEIJING - One of the world’s biggest ports is working to fully automate all dock operations in a bid to cope with Covid-19-induced supply chain disruptions and labour shortages.
China’s northern Tianjin port is looking to develop a “digital twin” in three to five years, Mr Yang Jiemin, vice-president of parent Tianjin Port Group said this week. “All ports globally should move towards being more intelligent, eco-friendly and efficient.”
Tianjin port is working with Huawei Technologies and others to tackle challenges facing the port sector, including how to make supply chains more resilient, and 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 firms to supply fast and reliable network connections, according to Huawei.
Covid-19 disruptions and labour unrest led to congestion at ports around the world in 2022
And China is now grappling with a pivot from zero-Covid 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 per cent of the human workforce to run neighbouring docks. The terminal is also fully driverless.
Tianjin port – one of the world’s largest by container volume – has struggled to find and retain truck drivers to load and unload containers at its terminals, said Mr York Yuekun, Huawei’s chief technology officer for smart roads, waterways and ports.
Tianjin port also handles ore, coal, oil, cars and other commodities. It is a popular port for cruises in northern China, and a leasing hub for aircraft and ships.
Its container throughput exceeded 21 million twenty-foot equivalent units in 2022, 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 then.
For Huawei, the Tianjin port partnership signals a push to develop new lines of business after United States tech export restrictions gutted its smartphone business and curbed the sale of advanced gear in developed markets. It has ventured into developing smart solutions to facilitate digitalisation of traditional businesses like ports and mines, utilising home-grown 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. BLOOMBERG
