Busan, Gwangyang will turn into 'intelligent' ports
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The government said on Thursday (Sept. 28) that it plans to make artificial intelligence and other state-of-the-art technologies available at its two key ports of Busan and Gwangyang to swiftly and automatically track down containers and the ships carrying them.
This logistics upgrade project is included in a 10-year master plan aimed at jacking up the country's national resources management, presided over by Science and Technology Minister Kim Woo-shik.
Also, next-generation technologies that can move containers on and off the ships at a rapid pace are currently being developed and tested.
One of the most ambitious and expensive projects to be created is a movable pier utilizing a hybrid technology system.
Today, large-size ships are only able to stand by and wait to dock at an available and fixed pier that matches their dimensions.
But the hybrid berth, topped with multi-container cranes (MCC) that can lock, load and unload up to 100 containers per hour, will be able to move to and surround any ship, including super-sized cargo carriers. The MCC will also be twice as fast as today's cranes at ports.
The high stacking system, in the meantime, will be able to lift, stack and transport containers in confined spaces.
The maritime ministry said the logistics blueprint was mapped out in 2003, with the aim of completely upgrading the logistics systems at Gwangyang and Busan, including the New Port, by 2009.
“The high stacking system will be completed by the end of this year,” said an official at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. “We will test the system for about a year and market it afterwards.”
All-new logistics systems will be ready to go in three years, except for the hybrid-mobile pier due to its mounting costs and sophisticated technology, added the official.
The 35.1-billion-won project is aimed at making Busan and Gwangyang the “Mega-Hub” logistics ports of Northeast Asia, while adjusting to the pace of increasing global goods transported in Korea, said the maritime ministry.The source of news : Korea.net September 29, 2006
