Great storage heights

DP World has completed testing of the BOXBAY high bay storage system at the first full-size facility constructed at the DP World-operated Jebel Ali Port in Dubai. More than 63,000 container moves have been completed since the facility, which can hold 792 containers at a time, was commissioned at the beginning this year. The test exceeded expectations with BOXBAY being faster and more energy efficient than anticipated.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, group chairman and CEO of DP World, said: “This test proves that BOXBAY can revolutionise how ports and terminals operate. The technology we have developed with our joint venture partner SMS group dramatically expands capacity, increases efficiency, and makes the handling of containers more sustainable.”

3X capacity of conventional yard

A joint venture between DP World and German industrial engineering specialist SMS group, BOXBAY stores containers in slots in a steel rack up to eleven high. It delivers three times the capacity of a conventional yard in which containers are stacked directly on top of each other, meaning the footprint of terminals can be reduced by 70%.

Containers are moved in, out and between slots by fully electrified and automated cranes built into the structure. Individual containers can be accessed without moving any others. Additionally, the whole system is designed to be fully powered by solar panels on the roof.

Modifications made during the trial compared to the original design further improve performance and significantly reduce investment required for future installations. High performance levels of BOXBAY – 19.3 moves per hour at each waterside transfer table to the straddle carrier and 31.8 moves per hour at each landside truck crane – will also reduce the equipment needed in a terminal. Operating costs are also lower than anticipated, with energy costs improved by 29%, with significantly reduced maintenance costs.