The number of containers handled in ports has significantly increased due to ever-larger containerships, which caused significant land-side congestion at container terminal (CT) gates. A range of peaks and off-peaks of container handling operations at CT per week has been also widened, due to various sizes of calling containerships. Furthermore, re-handling operations of import containers at CY are unavoidable, because in-coming trailers to pick them up are expected to arrive at random in CY even in the case of Terminal Appointment System (TAS). These operational circumstances are widely observed across the world and have accelerated land-side congestion and challenged the operational efficiency of CT.
In response, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has implemented a new port information system, “CONPAS (Container Fast Pass)” in the Port of Yokohama. COMPAS aims at:
- reducing waiting time of in-coming trailers at CT by introducing the reservation system,
- reducing CT gate processing time by utilizing PS (Port Security) card which is an ID card equipped with IC chip,
- reducing gate entry time by prior verification of carry-in/out information of containers, and
- reducing waiting time for re-handling operations by utilizing in-coming trailer location information.
In the trial operations, approximately 14% of in-coming trailers made reservation via CONPAS at the time of container delivery, and as a result, the total waiting time of in-coming trailers including trailers without reservation was reduced by approximately 10%. In developing CONPAS and conducting trial operations, MLIT has collaborated closely with all the stakeholders in the Port of Yokohama, such as terminal and land transport operators, which succeeded in building mutual understanding of all the parties’ concerned. This is a critical key to success of the project, because the more land transport operators and container terminals introduce CONPAS, the more benefit will be delivered to them.