Napier Port\u2019s incoming trucks will only be used around the container terminal and won\u2019t be used outside the port.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will firstly introduce the truck and trailer units with drivers when they arrive on port and transition to autonomous,\u201d a Napier Port spokesman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAutonomous vehicles can operate independently and see their surroundings using advanced sensors, cameras and data. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey are capable of making decisions in real time \u2013 like stopping if something is in their way.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey still work within a defined area and under human supervision.<\/p>\n
\u201cAutomated vehicles can perform tasks independently, but still follow a predefined set of rules or instructions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The move will result in \u201ca small number of redundancies\u201d within the heavy plant operator team, the port confirmed.<\/p>\n
The port is using an undisclosed provider of autonomous technology for the project based in China, and the truck and trailer units themselves are Sany battery electric terminal tractors (a Chinese-based manufacturer).<\/p>\n
A Sany electric terminal tractor. The actual truck and trailer units coming to Napier could be slightly different. Photo \/ Sany<\/p>\n
The main function of the fleet is to change the way containers are moved between the container yard and ships.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur current container handling model relies on large diesel-powered reachstackers to vertically lift containers off a stack, and then horizontally transport containers between the container yard and the wharf,\u201d the spokesman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cReachstackers will still be used to lift containers from [a] stack, but instead of transporting them to the cranes, they will load the containers to a truck and trailer unit, which will then drive the container to shipside and vice versa.\u201d <\/p>\n
The changes to that model are expected to reduce equipment wear and maintenance costs for the reachstackers, decrease congestion within the container terminal (providing more space between rows and more storage capacity) and also improve productivity and efficiency.<\/p>\n
As for safety, the spokesman said they had expanded the safety team to prepare for the changes and were working closely with an international consultant and Maritime New Zealand.<\/p>\n
He claimed the new fleet would actually enhance safety at the port, as a new one-way traffic system was being introduced in the container terminal \u201cwhich will reduce one of our major risks \u2013 vehicle collision”.<\/p>\n
The first truck is scheduled to arrive in the first half of 2026 from China, followed by the rest of the fleet later in the year.<\/p>\n
The fleet will be gradually phased into operation.<\/p>\n
The port says there will be new opportunities associated with the changes, and 11 staff are currently completing a New Zealand Certificate in Electric Vehicle Automotive Engineering (Level 5) through EIT.<\/p>\n
Allan Addison-Saipe, the central region organiser for the Rail and Maritime Transport Union, the largest union at the port, said \u201cif we look at ports overseas, there is a lot of automation\u201d.<\/p>\n
Addison-Saipe said for the jobs that were being disestablished, the union had a good rapport with Napier Port and he hoped those workers would be able to find other roles.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are a union and we are very much about keeping people employed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf automation is going to come and take our jobs, that is a concern, because jobs in ports are good jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are good jobs for people and are pretty well-paid and most people that earn that money go out into the community and spend that money.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for safety for workers on the port, Addison-Saipe said \u201cwe will be watching very closely to make sure that people stay safe\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Autonomous trucks are] an unproven technology in this country, it is used in other countries, but we haven\u2019t seen it here before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Addison-Saipe said he was interested to see how traffic would be managed on the port, with trucks coming on to the port while the self-driving trucks were in operation. He understood a lot of work was going into that.<\/p>\n
The port confirmed external trucks would still enter the container terminal, and the new one-way traffic system would apply to them as well.<\/p>\n
Napier Port is 55% owned by Hawke\u2019s Bay Regional Investment Company (essentially the Hawke\u2019s Bay Regional Council) and 45% is listed on the NZX stock exchange.<\/p>\n
Every Monday afternoon, the port has been running trials simulating how the new autonomous truck and trailer model will operate.<\/p>\n
The trucks can be used with a driver in the cab, autonomously without a driver inside, or be controlled remotely from the office.<\/p>\n
Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke\u2019s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Napier Port\u2019s incoming trucks will only be used around the container terminal and won\u2019t be used outside the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30252,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[138,29274,3463,1888,28828,2082,15221,78,29269,29273,3607,117,111,139,69,1118,26859,29268,29272,624,6302,312,29270,61,29271,1533,14443,80],"class_list":["post-30251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-compromise","tag-dozen","tag-first","tag-fleet","tag-for","tag-improve","tag-in","tag-introduce","tag-introduction","tag-napier","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-operations","tag-port","tag-ports","tag-productivity","tag-safety","tag-says","tag-selfdriving","tag-to","tag-trucks","tag-will","tag-wont","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}