DP World and German industrial engineering specialist SMS group are celebrating after their successful joint venture. The futuristic BOXBAY high bay storage system completed its first six months in operation at Jebel Ali port in Dubai, with flying colours. The innovative technology aims to change the way containers are handled, in terms of performance, reliability and energy efficiency. After such successful results, the structure has proven that it’s ready for worldwide use, achieving greater speed and energy efficiency than anticipated, getting the green light for use across the world.
How it works
The storage system can hold up to 792 containers at a time, and since the start of the year has moved more than 63,000 containers. The cleverly designed system is designed to be fully powered by solar panels and is able to access each individual container directly by fully electrified and automated built-in cranes.
The structure stores containers in steel rack slots, up to 11 containers high, making it capable of delivering three times the capacity of conventional yards. Thoughtfully designed to increase capacity, boost productivity, reduce the equipment needed at each terminal and improve the sustainability of container handling, BOXBAY is set to truly revolutionise the future of port and terminal operations.
The results
According to DP World, the high-performance levels of BOXBAY are 19.3 moves per hour at waterside transfer tables to the straddle carrier and 31.8 moves per hour at each landside truck crane. As well as this, energy costs were always improved by 29% and significantly reduced maintenance costs.
