ItÂ’s not a question of capability but the matter of having the mindset of adapting new technology and enjoying its benefit over the long term, says Sami Korpela, Country Manager, Konecranes India, in an email interview.
What are the modern technologies available for port operations?
The latest trend in port cranes is to have most reliable and efficient cranes and no doubt automation and crane condition monitoring have become very imporÂtant to manage the overall crane operations efficiently. Recently we have introduced new Hybrid Power Pack Technology for RTG cranes. This technology turns a fully-diesel RTG into a diesel/electric hybrid RTG. Whenever possible, the crane is operated with electrical power drawn from the energy store. Depending on usage, this solution can significantly reduce diesel fuel costs.
Are Indian ports capable of using modern equipment? Are these new technologies financially viable for Indian ports?
Indian ports are surely capable to use all these modern technology. While investing in capex, many ports have been found conservative and the trend of buying used equipment from western countries can also be seen in India. Every new technology comes with new benefits and we need to invest heavily in developing such benefits for customers, so customers need to pay premium price for imported cranes. However, the initial cost of equipment might appear as high but in the long run, it pays back to the customers as the life cycle cost of imported cranes is low.
The scenario is that under PPP scheme, the time line for award of contract to port operator is very long. The time required from bidding to award of Letter of Intent (LOI) is minimum three years due to requirement of statutory government clearances. If we look at Indian economy, the costs considered during bidding process escalates till the operator gets award for port developÂment. Cost escalation is not granted and finally equipment costs are squeezed as there is no other
choice. This process refrain the successful bidder from adapting to new technologies.
How do you compare the Indian private ports and state-run ports in adapting new technologies?
All the modern technology is developed considering the long term product applications and business enviÂronment and naturally at initial stages every new technology is little expensive as compared to traditional one. Yes, private ports at present are most likely to use the modern technology, but itÂ’s not a question of capaÂbility but itÂ’s the matter of having the mindset of adapting new technology and enjoying its benefit over the long term.
How can these modern technologies bring changes in port operations, in terms of safety and efficiency?
Imported cranes are highly advanced in terms of automation solutions, the fuel efficiency of cranes and
its fast operation. When the ship comes at port for unloading cargo, it completely depends on speed and efficiency of crane for how long to make the ship waiting for unloading/loading the cargo. Faster the crane, lesser time is required to unload/load ships and it will increase the productivity of ports. Also the modern crane comes with container identification technology which can help operator to identify the specific container location among the hundreds of containers lying in the ports, so the operator can pick up the exact container with least time. These are just few examples of how modern cranes can enhance the overall efficiency of port operations.
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