South Harbor ready for Q4 cargo rush

Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI), operator of Manila South Harbor, yesterday said it is ready to handle the anticipated growth of international container volumes at the Port of Manila during the cargo rush in the fourth quarter this year.

ATI reported it achieved a record having handled over 100,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TUEs) of international containers last month– the first time in a single month – while maintaining world-class production levels.

Prior to this, ATI twice broke its record volume, handling over 94,000 TEUs in May and in excess of 95,000 TEUs in June.

Without any signs of slowdown, Manila South Harbor’s production has averaged above the industry standard of 25 gross moves per crane per hour (GMPH), and even recorded world-class levels of over 30 GMPH in previous months, which are comparable to the production of leading global ports in Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Production is measured by how many containers a crane moves from ship to shore per hour. Higher GMPH reflects efficient handling of containers at berth, which redounds to faster turnaround of ships and trucks, and ultimately quicker delivery of goods to consignees.

ATI partly attributes these achievements to the Terminal Appointment Booking System (TABS), an online scheduling facility for the orderly delivery and pull out of containers at the terminal.

Since TABS’ implementation, Manila South Harbor has been able to handle over 25 percent increase in truck transactions from a daily average of 1,600 at faster turnaround time.

Handling more transactions in the same fixed timeframe as before means an equivalent reduction in truck numbers on the road as fewer vehicles are needed to be placed on the roads at any single time to keep the supply-chain going. This contributes in decongesting Metro Manila roads.

ATI also said its aggressive investment has delivered greater capacity and efficiency at Manila South Harbor.

Last year, ATI increased its rubber-tired gantry cranes to 23 units, equivalent to a 50 percent increase in fleet size since 2013, to complement its nine quay cranes (QCs). It also appended its container side loaders to increase its fleet size by 50 percent.

Next year, ATI will take delivery of two brand new QCs and other operations critical cargo handling equipment – alongside the completion of additional container yards, process improvement and technological advancement – that will further ensure higher capacity and efficiency at the Port of Manila.

ATI’s pronouncement came after the  Philippine Ports Authority  assured  there will be no congestion in all ports despite the expected upsurge in cargo volumes during the “ber” months.