Singapore’s project to operate the world’s largest automated port is progressing well. The Tuas mega port has successfully handled 10 million containers since it began operations in September 2022 and is expected to increase to 65 million shipping containers per year in the 2040s when its four-phase development is complete.
The 10-million mark is a significant milestone for the fully automated container terminal as it tests its technology ahead of the consolidation of Singapore’s other ports to this facility over the next several years. This consolidation is expected to reduce inter-terminal haulage operations and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the port.
What does this enormous automated operation look like?
A command center near the port has humans monitoring and remotely operating vehicles and cranes from large screens displaying a digital twin of the facility. This includes a fleet of fast-charging electric automated guided vehicles (AGV) moving through the terminal, autonomously transporting containers atop their flat chassis (each can carry up to two 20-ft containers or a single 40-ft container) at speeds up to 15.5 mph (25 km/h).
Tuas port’s fleet currently includes more than 200 of these AGVs, which use RFID to communicate with underground transponders and share their location in real-time for precise positioning and collision avoidance. Fumika Sato reported that on a recent tour of the mega port, you could hardly spot a human worker at the facility among the bunch of driverless yellow AGVs going about their business.
The AGVs operate via a central fleet management system and can run for up to six hours on a 20-minute charge. These vehicles feature an always-on communications design, ensuring they can still be controlled safely online even if some port networking systems fail.
Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority will further digitize Tuas port’s operations with a “Next Generation Vessel Traffic Management System” monitoring terminal traffic in real-time using AI and satellites. PSA Singapore plans to expand the AGV fleet by another 200 vehicles as the facility nears completion.
eight berths and employed 500 people at the facility, with plans for further expansion over the next several years. Singapore’s entire port city handled 41.12 million 20-ft-equivalent units (TEUs) or containers in 2024, slightly behind Shanghai’s 50 million annual TEU figure. Once completed, Tuas will exceed that number at 65 million TEUs at a single terminal.
Source: PSA Singapore
