Australian firm offers to solve holiday port congestion

AN INNOVATION solutions company said the digitization of local port operations is key to ensuring port congestion is avoided as the holiday season comes.

In a statement on Friday, Australian company 1-Stop Connections Pty. Ltd. said its web-based port operations system Terminal Appointment Booking System (TABS) could be an instrumental tool in enforcing a seamless flow of cargo as it allows for easier coordination among port operators.

“As the Philippines seeks to grow its shipping sector, there is a need to increase port productivity through digitization. Since various stakeholders are involved in port operations, efficiency can only be achieved by streamlining processes and facilitating the sharing of vessel- and cargorelated information within the port community,” it said.

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) earlier said it expects a “high single digits or low double digits” growth in overall cargo traffic by year’s end due to the influx of holiday cargoes.

1-Stop Connections said its TABS technology was able to help port operators International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) and Asian Terminals, Inc. (ATI) in decongesting the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) and the Manila South Harbor in 2014, when it faced port congestion that led to economic losses.

“After using TABS, MICT and ATI reached 60,000 truck transactions per month from what was previously 40,000. Efficiency increased by 25% during peak hours, unclogging ports and the roads leading to them,” it said.

The web-based system allows for real-time sharing and monitoring of container data to let port operators schedule an orderly flow of cargoes.

ATI had previously credited TABS for its record-high volume in the first half at 560,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). It said the system served as a platform to get trucks to pick-up containers from the port quickly and efficiently because of pre-booked terminal transactions.

“Prior to TABS, the trucks would arrive randomly at the port, hence the long queues we’ve had for many, many years. What TABS did was regulate that over a 24-hour period. That has proved successful since we implemented it,” said Edward Ian Baking, ATI assistant vice-president for business development, in the 1-Stop Connections statement.

It also quoted Christian R. Gonzalez, ICTSI’s senior vice-president, as saying, “With a system like TABS which allows us to modify behavior, plan the arrivals and departures of trucks better, we’re now seeing an alignment between what the local government and road departments want and port authorities and national government want.” —