City port prides itself on safety and efficiency

Up to 17,000 containers a year arrive at Hamilton Cargo Docks, warranting the highest standards in safety and efficiency.

The city docks are the island’s lifeline to the outside world and are crucial to the flow of food, goods and provisions to residents.

Recent developments have aimed to improve efficiency — such as the arrival of a new crane — while the installation of an X-ray scanner is facilitating greater border protection.

Contraband

Government’s move to bring in the X-ray scanner has enabled HM Customs officers to search for guns and other smuggled contraband in the containers.

The scanner hall however, has also brought an overhaul of the layout of the docks, and the road intersection between Front Street and Court Street.

Stevedoring Services Ltd (SSL) is the freight handling company which operates Hamilton Cargo Docks.

Peter Aldrich, SSL CEO and general manager, said: “The docks are just under six acres and we move 35,000 full and empty 20ft containers a year.

“Back in 2008 we were moving a combination of about 45,000 full and empty containers.

“The volume of cargo moving through the docks has decreased by 10 per cent each year for the past three years, due to the economic slowdown.

“In terms of importation levels, we are currently running at or around the importation levels of 2002-3.”

He added: “We used to have a high volume of construction equipment and materials which came through but the volume of this has dropped by about 40 per cent in the past three years.”

Mr Aldrich said: “Between 85 and 95 per cent of cargo coming through the docks is containers. We also handle a small number of 40ft containers and about 200 47ft road trailers each year.

“We also do about 1,800 imported cars per year, a large selection of break bulk (individually-loaded) cargo such as boats, plus construction equipment and trucks.

“This means the configuration of the docks has to be flexible enough for us to process all of this cargo.

“When the Government decided they were going to introduce X-ray screening we needed to come up with a design to accommodate that.

“We said we supported it, but that it couldn’t compromise safety and efficiency.

“We agreed on a location to put the X-ray screening hall where it would make conditions on the dock safer and as efficient as they were before.

“Stevedoring Services Ltd collaborated on the design of the docks and the Corporation (City) of Hamilton focused on the interface with the roadway.

“The project started in March 2010 with the removal of the Number Seven (cargo) Shed and it should be finally completed in the next couple of months, with the new refrigerated container storage facility.

Paperless

“Refrigerated containers are plugged into a ship’s electrics during the voyage but once they’re taken off the ship they need to be connected to an electrical source, to retain their temperature.

“The old refrigerated storage facility needed to be relocated to another location as it was in the vicinity of the X-ray screening hall.

“Now it will be sited in the east end of the docks. This should be completed in the next couple of months.”

The current Safe Operating Capacity of the port of Hamilton is 1,000 TEU (a 20ft equivalent unit — a measure used for capacity in container transportation).

The X-ray scanner became operational in September and can take a complete scan of a container within two minutes. The facility will enable Customs officers to screen each container coming through the docks, but  currently has adopted a targeted screening process.

Since April 2012, the port of Hamilton has also been a ‘paperless port’.

Previously, customers had to clear Customs, pay their duty and then bring their paperwork to the docks, but now this is all done electronically.

“Traditionally we had to have a paper Customs release and paper Delivery Order which was visually inspected before the container was released. This process was time consuming and subject to human error, and we ended up with a lot of paperwork,” said Mr Aldrich.

SSL introduced an electronic system to process electronic Customs entries generated from Customs Automated Procedures (CAPS), removing the need to present the paperwork.

It means importers no longer have to present their paperwork to their trucker or the truck gate, they can just initiate delivery via computer.

If the container is cleared through Customs, a message is then sent to SSL’s equipment operator telling them which container to deliver.

“With the introduction of the paperless system we estimate we’ve saved 50,000 pieces of paper a year,” said Mr Aldrich.

“It’s also a lot more convenient for our customers as they don’t have to bring us physical pieces of paper, they just e-mail us now.”

He added the new crane had also improved efficiency.

“We brought it in earlier this year as a purpose-built crane for this industry, to service the ships.

“As it’s new there are no maintenance issues and so it’s in service longer, whereas the other crane was 10-years-old and was a modified construction crane.

Demand

“The new crane has similar lifting capabilities but is a more robust piece of equipment and will last longer.”

Mr Aldrich said: “The ‘turn time’ — the amount of time a truck stays on the dock, has also been reduced.

“The average time used to be between 12 and 18 minutes but now we’ve reduced that time by five to 10 minutes, depending on the transaction. Our average delivery time is now about 12 minutes.

“We can deliver up to 80 containers a day but we’re probably at about 60 at the moment, due to the decline in the economy. It depends on the season, the day and the customer demand.

“But due to the current economic slowdown we sometimes have to wait for customers to come and get their containers.”

For more information contact SSL on 292-3366 or see www.stevedoring.bm