Automated Container Terminal owned by SPG [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Berths 107 and 108 of Phase II of the Qingdao Port Fully Automated Container Terminal, owned by Shandong Port Group (SPG), have been officially approved to begin operating.

A provincial inspection team consisting of the Port Office of the Shandong Provincial Government, Qingdao customs, Shandong Exit-entry Frontier Inspection General Station, Maritime Safety Administration of Shandong Province and Department of Transport of Shandong finished inspecting Berths 107 and 108 of the Qingdao Fully Automated Container Terminal on Nov 10, allowing the two berths to begin operating and open up to the outside world.

Berths 107 and 108 have a quay length of around 660 meters, a depth of 784 meters, and cover an area of 370,000 square meters. They are capable of berthing 200,000-ton container vessels. Thanks to upgraded technologies, the construction duration of the second phase was two years less than that of Phase I. Equipped with nine single lifting double trolley cranes, 38 fully automatic high-speed rail cranes and 45 electric lifting automatic guided vehicles, Phase Ⅱ's designed annual capacity is 1.7 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). The terminal’s highest recorded crane productivity is 44.6 moves per hour per crane, a word record in the industry.

Going forward, guided by the spirit of the fifth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Qingdao Port Fully Automated Container Terminal will seize the new opportunities brought about by SPG's integration reform. The terminal will rely on sci-tech innovation to help SPG build advanced smart and green ports as well as help make the ports fully intelligent. The terminal will also help to accelerate the construction of world-class sea ports.