Container port design process is a set of correlated practices considered during container port design, aiming to transfer general business mission into detailed design documents for future construction and operation.
The design process involves both conceptual design and detailed design.
Funding
The source of funding determines the mission and scope of the project. Choices include federal funding (subsidies),Myers, N.; Kent, J. (2001). Perverse subsidies: how tax dollars can undercut the environment and the economy. Washington, DC: Island Press. state or local funding, and private funding.
American ports require subsidies from the federal government in order to keep up with advances in maritime transportation as well as the capabilities of the inland freight movement. Often, roughly 50% of the costs every year come from federal sources. The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) is an association that aims at ensuring and increasing federal funds to American ports.
A few federal bills which provide funding for ports are Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act: $11 billion in funding to assist in surface transportation improvements National Highway Freight Program (NHFP): at least $10 billion in funding reorganized for more efficient use in transportation improvements
Most often, the State's Department of Transportation (DOT) is the largest state/local financier of public money investments. The DOTs see the ports as key elements in the systems of movement they are responsible for, such as railways and highways.
Investment from private entities is critical to the creation and execution of port activities. American ports are often run by private entities in the sense that day-to-day functions are financed and managed with the primary goal of creating revenue. The municipalities of the terminals are kept up by the Port Authority, but the equipment and infrastructure required for operations are under the private entities' power.
With the creation of new ports, often Public-Private Partnerships, otherwise known as 3P, are formed to bring in the upfront capital necessary for someone to take on the financial risk of operating a terminal. Container terminals are no different in this sense from other types of terminals.
Cargo
Cargo determines the main function, transportation mode, and related characters required for the container port. In container port design, the object cargo is an intermodal container. Containers are usually classified as 20-foot and 40-foot. 53-foot containers were introduced and used both in the US and Canada, mainly for domestic road and rail transport.
Vessels
The type of vessel, its dimension, and capacity determine the required capacity for a port's input capacity, which involves berth design, water-borne handling equipment selection, and requirements for both storage and land-mode capacity.
The characteristics of vessels and the port characteristics: Main dimensions: length, which determines the widths and bends of the channel, size required for the terminal, and maximum number of berths; the breadth and air draft, which influences cargo-handing equipment selection, and the width of channels; draft, which determines the depth along berths. Cargo Capacity, which control over the cargo ship requirements (minimum) of storage, and can affect the loading and unloading processing, usually cranes/ship. Designed vessel Function. Whether vessel has cargo handling equipment/ how it load cargo. Usually, container vessels require external handling equipment. Vessel routine shall also get considered as the inter-modal capability requirement for import, export, and trans-ship service will be different.
The selection of designed vessel shall also consider the development of the container ship. Underestimating the trend of size development of container ship will result in incapability and low sustainability.
Location
It should start with data collection and get finished by receiving government permits. The choice of location is considered with the philosophy of triple-bottom line and with considerations of waterside access, natural conditions, inter-modal connections, and stakeholders.
For ports Promotion of the advanced development of the urban and regional economy; The requirement of vessel's maneuvering, braking, harbor navigation, berthing operations; Greenfield site for general port development, such as new quays, reclamation, or breakwater. For container terminals The availability of deep water; The environmental site conditions including oceanographic and meteorological conditions; The availability of land; Good inland transport link or intermodal connections; The soil conditions
Waterside Access Waterside access is the condition of waterways in the location, which determines the expected depth, berth quantities, vessel accessibility, and effort required for the development. The access channel is a waterway that linking the basins of a port to the open sea. The importance of the location of access channels is that it determines the oceanographic factors such as wave, tidal cycle, current, wind met by the ships in the channel. Also, it needs to keep the depth of the channel and be able to accommodate the world's largest cargo vessels. For example, in order to meet the need, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey runs the Main Navigation Channel Deepening Program, dredged 38 miles of federal channels to as deep as 50 feet by 30 years. There are several aspects, based on PIANC (1997), a designer needs to consider: Vessel's dimension and velocity; The cargo hazard level; The traffic density; The physical environmental conditions are consisting of wind, waves, currents, tidal range, as well as the hardness of the bottom surface.
Natural conditions Natural conditions are classified as to whether the area selected is developed or natural. Natural condition determines whether there will be existing utilities and constraint for future terminal development. Category ProjectGeologySoil TypeSandClaySedimentary soilRockBedrock DepthBedrock elevationBedrock propertiesSoil PropertiesSoil textureSoil structureSoil porosityMeteorologicalWindWind velocityWind directionHurricanePassing frequencyRouteleveldegree of damageOtherTemperaturePrecipitationVisibility on fogOceanographyTideTide typeTide positionSalinity CurrentResidual currentVelocityWater levelSea level rise
Intermodal connections An intermodal connection is a place where rail, truck, barge, and other transport methods converge. Intermodal connection for container terminal mainly consists of road and rail. The capacity of intermodal connection---docking and the handling, storage, and transfer of cargo---determines the capability of terminal cargo transportation to/from the land.
Stakeholders Stakeholders as any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organization's objectives. (R. Edward Freeman 1984.) Stakeholder analysis is a process of systematically gathering and analyzing qualitative information to determine whose interests should be taken into account when developing and or implementing a policy or program. The purpose of a stakeholder analysis is to assess the attitudes of the stakeholders regarding the realization of a new container terminal.
Stakeholders in location selection mainly consist of trade organizations, maritime groups, regional government, neighborhood societies, environment groups, and other people with direct/indirect interest related to the terminal. Selection shall involve their participation so as to avoid strong conflicts in future development and to keep terminal development adapt to the changing demand from these stakeholders.
Agencies and societies involved in this process are: Port Authority Municipality Province National Government Residents Potential Operators Environmentalist
Permits Permits are crucial in the designing process. Large scale development projects that have the potential for causing significant adverse environmental impacts need permits to start operation. Projects without permits will be identified as an offense. Port needs port permits to open. Environmental permits will be issued by Local Environmental Protection Agencies. Usually include three-part: water side, land side, and air emissions. Permits for ports should include a clean air permit, construction permit, discharge permit, dredge permits, and water discharge permit.
Detailed design
The consideration of infrastructure includes plans for deployment and construction of infrastructures to implement the functions of the terminal. The wharf at a terminal is the structure that forms the edge of the landside facility. It is made up of both the topside and the face. The face of the wharf is where equipment is mounted to allow vessels to berth. It is also designed to be within the high water levels, thus making its structures susceptible to corrosion. Water-tightness and corrosion protection are a must for any structural elements that make up the face. The topside of the wharf is what is broken down into berths. Pre-designated lengths of the wharf are separated into identified berths based on the design vessels characteristics. Container cranes operate along the wharf when vessels have berthed.
Warehouses are created at container terminals to hold specific goods that are transported to the port but are not being shipped out in the same container. This style of transport is not common. However, this can be a service supplied by the terminal owners to increase imports. Those goods, when warehoused, incur additional handling and storage costs, increasing revenue as well.
Maintenance is the conception that uses engineering theories and practices, risk management, and maintenance strategy to plan and implement routine maintenance of facilities and operation systems. The overall maintenance policy for port or terminal should be to maintain all of the facility assets to the extent that the level of expenditure is justified in order that the assets remain serviceable during their design life or longer and for reasons of safety and security. A typical maintenance team involves experienced personnel under the control of a qualified engineering maintenance manager and supervisory staff, and engineering inspection staff. It should meet the requirements listed in ISM (International Safety Management Code). The maintenance facilities required will include a workshop with sufficient space to work on approximately 10% of the mobile equipment and spreaders at any one time. The maintenance facilities should be located outside but close to the container yard. It is necessary to provide a Stores section within the maintenance facility that will hold necessary spare components and materials. Following are the specific requirements for maintenance.
Planned preventive maintenance and statutory inspections of equipment are normally carried out during the day shift when all specialist trades are available. Outside of the day shift, minimal manning levels are normally retained to cover breakdowns and emergency repairs only. For other specialist areas such as IT and electronics, it is usual to retain specialized personnel due to the specific needs of such systems and equipment. Mechanical and electrical engineering and IT personnel will be responsible for the daily maintenance of cargo handling equipment and other aspects of the facility that require these skills and for specific IT operating systems such as the TOS. High voltage electrical cables and switchgear should be maintained by specialist contractors whilst maintenance of low and medium cables and domestic electrics can be undertaken by electrical tradesmen.