Major Changes the Automated Container Terminal has Brought Us: the Case of TTI Algeciras 2014-11-03
TTI Algeciras – The first Automated Container Terminal in South Europe
Geographical advantages of TTIA
TTIA (Total Terminal International Algeciras) in Algeciras, Spain (Strait of Gibraltar), a 1.5-million-TEU terminal, is the first automatic terminal in the Mediterranean Sea. It is situated in one of the most strategic points in the world. It is at the end of Europe and in front of Africa. About 33% of all cargo vessels of the world pass in front of TTIA. And this can be higher by the end of next year when the new canal of Panama will be opened. Also, it is inside of the European Union (inside of Schengen Area) so that it brings with it the change of the direct connection from Asia to Europe. Schengen Area allows companies to move goods throughout the countries that belong to this area without any stoppage at the borders. Once you enter the area, you do not need more stops; so companies can optimize the scales of the goods.
Regional development with automated container terminal
At TTIA Terminal, CyberLogitec Spain is with a group of 7 specialists who are in charge of the maintenance and enhancement of the TOS (Terminal Operating System). OPUS Terminal which is installed in TTIA Terminal gives more advantages compared to the other Spanish traditional ports like Bilbao, Valencia and Barcelona, (which have more civil infrastructure but are not automated enough). TTIA is one step forward with automatic technologies like terminal gate automation, fully automated yard block with ASC and complex automatic logistics logics. All these technological advantages of TTIA are provided by CyberLogitec with other sub-providers. CyberLogitec has adapted its TOS to the specific requirements of TTIA and the circumstances of the Strait of Gibraltar.
All this has transformed the area around the port, passing from fishing and tourist dedicated area to a logistical area with great potential in the near future. It has made even the central government begin to change its mind and see the port as a key infrastructure in the near future (like train connected to Central Europe).
As a result, we can see the evolution of container move in the Strait of Gibraltar. 1st quarter of 2011 actual throughput in the Strait of Gibraltar was about 900,000 moves. But, after TTIA Terminal started to attract customers from other ports with stable, secure, fast automated services, in the 4th quarter of 2013, the moves per quarter was around 1,300,000. It’s 44% increase of all moves in the Strait of Gibraltar, with which CyberLogitec Spain has made a big and successful contribution to the change and we will keep going ahead.
Next automatic container terminals in Europe and Africa as well
As a CyberLogitec Spain supervisor, I am very interested in expanding our product for the upcoming projects around Europe and also in Africa, where this kind of industry is also emerging, and thereby helping our customers to change their perspective of the business: from manual to automatic industry. We have helped change the Strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea models and we are ready to change more areas.
Automatic terminals have high potential for future container industry. The tendency to reduce costs in all the steps of the container logistics (like mega vessels, engines, more efficient vessel etc.) forces the creation of new automatic terminals or the modification of the manual ones. So, now is the moment to invest in automatic terminals and be ready for the new generation of terminals.
