Automated magic: Inside the new-age technology powering Melbourne’s VICT

It presented like any other office on a Friday morning. A bunch of young office staff at their desks, wearing headphones while concentrating on multiple screens in front of them, coffee and energy drinks at hand. A quick chat among them, an occasional laugh, a quick toilet break.

However, it’s not your normal workplace. Instead, this office is actually the control centre for Victoria International Container Terminal’s (VICT) cranes that unload containers off of ships around the clock. At the click of a computer mouse, these operators are completing the most intricate of crane manoeuvres, controlling machinery nearly 50 metres tall more than a kilometre and a half down the road from their desks.

Down by the dock, five ship to shore (STS) cranes stand at 39 metres tall, pulling shipping containers off of vessels to process. Next to them are two newer STS cranes that are another 10 metres taller. They’re controlled in the comfort of the office, away from the bristling wind of Port Phillip Bay and the constant movement of the crane cabin.

It’s technology that is only seen in three places around the world – the ports of Rotterdam, London and Melbourne. The latter, which is where the VICT is based, is Australia’s first and only fully automated container terminal, featuring these seven STS cranes, 17 Automatic Container Carriers (ACCs) and 26 Automatic Stacking Cranes (ASCs).

Many Melbourne residents would’ve even realise the depth of technology that has quickly evolved within their own port. It was only in 2014 that the Port of Melbourne appointed VICT to design, build and operate Australia’s first fully automated container terminal.

As a subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), the largest independent terminal operator across six continents, VICT is the product of ICTSI’s experience, having been at the forefront of global port management for over 34 years. Within three years the terminal had commenced operations, and it now captures over a third of Melbourne’s international containerised market.

Currently, it adds 33 per cent capacity to the Port of Melbourne, enabling the growth of beyond 1.4 million TEUs to support the long-term trade expansion that is ongoing at the port.

However, the importance of what VICT has built over the past decade in Melbourne isn’t just for its workers and the ease that shipping companies get to enjoy when they unload at the terminal. This port technology has extended to the landside operations of VICT, where a variety of innovations have ensured there are never any long, winding queues of trucks waiting to get in and out of the terminal for hours at a time.

Instead, VICT has created a system that ensures no truck takes longer than 40 minutes to go gate to gate, with a maximum 33 minute turnaround time. It’s in stark contrast to other terminals, even VICT’s neighbours in Melbourne, and the key to it is technology.

Through a paperless truck booking system and optical character recognition gates, trucks only have to slow down upon hitting the entrance to VICT rather than wait for people or slow machines. Then, 11 inbound gates and four outbound mean there’s plenty of options and space for trucks to take to smoothly flow in and out of the port while collecting or discharging their loads.

While sitting at a vantage point to see the gates in action, a collection of trucks of all shapes and sizes, from B-doubles to a single trailer set-up, glide on by, barely stopping. The technology reads the trucks plate and container number to ensure the right truck and cargo are arriving for their planned pick-up time slot. Once they hit the secondary inbound gate, further identification checks are swiftly completed and they head straight on through to the automated yard, where the display of technology makes it clear what makes VICT an innovative leader in port logistics.

Located at Port of Melbourne’s Webb Dock East, VICT is the only terminal within the port precinct to have unrestricted navigation and berthing. Head on further to the other terminals in Melbourne and you hit the West Gate Bridge – a key height restrictor for massive ships. This provides a significant advantage for accommodating larger vessels in an efficient manner.

Left wide open to Port Phillip Bay, the record for the largest container vessel to reach the Port of Melbourne is at VICT when CMA-CGM Pelleas, a ship with dimensions of 350 metres by 43 metres and a TEU capacity of 9,661, docked at the terminal. On the landside of this, 13 container yard blocks provide 65 container pick up and drop off lanes, with everything neatly organised for standard containers and refrigerated/reefer containers.

When we drive into the massive yard on a Friday morning, I’m told it’s a busy time, with trucks constantly doing their best to reverse into the bays. However, there’s still expansive room and it doesn’t feel crowded – the abundance of bays means not everywhere is taken, making it convenient for trucks to manoeuvre around the terminal.

Upon completing perhaps the most challenging part of the operation where the trucks are reversed into their bays, this is where VICT’s technology comes to the fore. Once the driver has completed removing the pins holding the container, the software ensures the truck and trailers are in the correct spot and instructs the automatic cranes to begin their jaw-dropping activities.

The ASCs are what the landside relies on, with these massive cranes swivelling in all directions on rails. There’s no human behind these – instead, the automatic cranes spend all hours around the clock organising the containers so that it’s as simple as picking what is needed off the top of skyscraping piles and placing them carefully onto the backs of trucks. Once the transaction is done and the driver has secured the pins, the driver is free to go, with the technology even ensuring that everything is lined up correctly and made safe.

Behind this, I’m soon taken around to the waterside, where these seven giant cranes controlled by the workers back in the control centre constantly load and unload along a 735-metre-long quay. With mooring dolphins included, the entire length of the quay is 769 metres, allowing two 367 metre vessels to operate simultaneously.

It’s here that the seven cranes are constantly remotely controlled, unloading and then loading shipping containers on and off the ships. In between this and the cranes on the landside that load and unload the trucks are the 17 ACCs that also run without any human controlling them. Instead, magnets embedded underneath the asphalt allow this nimble fleet to run containers in between the two cranes without any human interference.

While this speedy process is making life a dream for the growing number of truck operators using the terminal, VICT also has a direct road connection with Appleton Rail to ensure containers continuously move between the rail line and VICT. This means there’s no additional cost for shipping lines and no disruption.

Now firmly entrenched in the Port of Melbourne’s ever-evolving operations, VICT has wasted no time in stacking milestones higher than it does its containers. The company has celebrated receiving its fifth million TEU since the start of operations in 2017, while it’s continuing to eye new growth opportunities both in its waterside space and in its landside technology.

It’s also committed to sustainability and efficiency, with this technology providing a safe gateway for goods that supports the Victorian economy. VICT supports The Mission to Seafarers Victoria, allowing ship crew to enjoy the city and receive some luxuries after spending up to weeks at a time on the high seas. Alongside supporting Backpack for VIC Kids, the company also sponsors the Wayfinder initiative by the Australian Logistics Council (ALC) which promotes women’s careers in the transport and logistics industries.

On the safety side, its 14.4 Rural Tailgate Inspection biosecurity measures allow containers destined for rural Victoria to be properly checked and cleaned before leaving the terminal. When it comes to energy efficiency, the cranes use an energy recovery system that represents 16 per cent of the total operational energy use. LED lighting systems on equipment and office spaces and the use of electric and hybrid vehicles within the terminal’s four walls ensure the terminal isn’t just leading the way in innovation, but also sustainability.

It may not be renowned as one of Melbourne’s leading landmarks – instead, tourists often tend to marvel at Federation Square, Eureka Tower or Flinders Street Station. But what VICT has built at the Port of Melbourne is fast putting the city in shining lights in the global port industry.