Green port - an important link in the logistics chain

08/08/2024 11:37

In the face of environmental problems that are being posed in the seaport operation industry, along with the implementation of global goals, seaport exploitation activities of seaport businesses and operators are being "greened" according to a balanced model between environmental fluctuations and economic development needs.

Commitment to sustainable development

The national strategy for green growth in the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, has set the goal of "greening" economic sectors. In particular, "green logistics development" includes green logistics centers and green ports,... is considered an important criterion in the business activities of seaport businesses and operators.

In fact, some Vietnamese seaports have taken steps to prepare and proactively implement green ports and green logistics. As the largest and most modern seaport in Vietnam, with a scale of 160 hectares of yards, 2,040 m of wharf, with advanced handling equipment and management technology in the Top 20 largest and most modern container ports in the world, Tan Cang - Cat Lai port is the first port in Vietnam to win the title of Green Port of the APEC Port Service Network Council. Sharing about the experience of "greening" seaports, a representative of Saigon Newport Corporation said that the business has focused on criteria such as: saving resources; port environmental quality; use clean energy at the port; waste treatment at the port; applying 4.0 technology...

To achieve the criteria, Cat Lai Port has replaced diesel lifting equipment with electric equipment, saving 1.5-2 million USD in fuel costs/year. Strengthen water transportation with a capacity of 3,000 TEUs at the same time, replacing about 2,000 container cars. At the same time, the application of electronic documents helps reduce the time for cars to wait at the port gate from 13 minutes to 6 minutes, eliminating paper documents at the port by about 30,000 - 50,000 sheets/day; planting trees along piers and roads...

Similarly, Mr. Vo Quoc Huy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Long An Port Joint Stock Company, said that the unit is constantly improving the operational efficiency of the port, adapting "digital transformation", "green transformation" through the use of renewable energy, saving resources, optimizing processes, reducing waste, etc  emissions, applying the most advanced technology. The works on the port install solar battery systems, use energy-saving LED lights, apply advanced technology (CATOS, MOST); the tractor fleet meets Euro 5 standards for emission reduction; hoisting equipment using 100% electricity; to study and put into use equipment for mining with electricity or renewable batteries, aiming to use shore electricity by 2030. Long An International Port is playing an important role in the global economic chain, especially in the field of logistics and supply chain, not only as an international freight forwarding point but also as a hub for transportation and distribution activities.

Mr. Truong Nguyen Linh, Deputy General Director of VICT Port, said that in addition to the most important goal of maintaining and continuing to strongly develop the business activities of the port, VICT Port is also gradually transforming digitally and upgrading the port's infrastructure/equipment according to the trend of green port development. VICT Port has also successfully implemented a number of projects, for example, ePort, which is a tool to help port businesses as well as customers carry out online forwarding services quickly, minimize check-in time, eliminate some steps in the manual / paperwork process, etc  reduce waiting time in line to save fuel for drivers, increase container delivery for transport companies, look up the status of goods delivery online, monitor the history of delivery at the port, etc.

Focus on reducing emissions

In addition to investing in modern equipment to use electricity instead of oil, in order to reduce emissions and save costs, port businesses have focused on developing water transportation. According to Colonel Bui Van Quy, Deputy General Director of Saigon Newport Corporation, transporting 1 container of 20 feet from Lach Huyen - Hai Phong deep-water port to ICD Que Vo - Bac Ninh by barge with a load of 96 TEU costs about 10 liters of oil, while transporting by tractor takes about 45 liters of oil. With an output of 30,000 TEUs in 1 year, the company's barge transportation by waterway contributes to a reduction of up to 80% of emissions. Therefore, the development of waterway transport contributes to the development of green transportation, thereby contributing to the development of green logistics in Vietnam. Currently, Saigon Newport Corporation is expanding and promoting green transportation by strengthening inland waterway transport connecting major gateways, such as Cai Mep deep-water port (Ba Ria - Vung Tau), Hai Phong port cluster connecting with localities, industrial clusters by water transportation. With this mode of transportation, it will contribute to reducing emissions to the environment...

With the goal of building according to a modern and smart green port model, Gemalink is applying many advanced technologies such as 8 STS shore cranes of Korea with a height of 92 m, weighing more than 1,700 tons, reaching 70 m, can simultaneously lift 2 containers of 20 feet or bulk cargo and project cargo with a tonnage of up to 85 tons; The 24 E-RTG cranes use 100% grid electricity, are operated semi-automatically, integrate flexible control technology and intelligent control cabin and DGPS system synchronously combined with modern CATOS port management software. As a result, Gemalink is one of the destinations that attracts shipping lines because of the criteria for green development, reducing environmental impact in operations.

Although seaports have made certain preparations in developing according to the green port model, however, experts believe that seaport greening still faces difficulties due to limited investment in environmental protection infrastructure, prevention and response to incidents in maritime activities at seaports.  due to the need for large funds. At the same time, Vietnam is also facing many difficulties in promoting the economical use of energy. Businesses lack capital or cannot access credit loans for energy-saving projects. The support mechanism for businesses to invest in replacing outdated lines with high-performance, energy-saving, and environmentally friendly technology lines is still very limited. Therefore, state agencies and seaport enterprises need to closely coordinate and have a long-term development strategy to promote efficiency.

Source: haiquanonline.com