The Port of Melbourne welcomes its third stevedore, Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT), which is said to be the most advanced container terminal operation in the world.The automated container terminal is capable of handling the larger vessels (that can carry between 8,000-12,500 containers) unable to berth at Swanson Dock.

The automated operations will be managed from a main terminal, creating a paperless and more accurate system but more importantly, improving safety in the workplace in what remains one of the nation’s most dangerous workplaces.

The first laden ship due to berth on 26th February 2017 at VICT was the E.R. Long Beach, but the terminal still presents its challenges. Issues with some of the automated terminal operations will impact transport services, with the Automated Stacking Cranes loading onto trucks ‘doors rear’. This will have major implications for road transport operators being compliant to heavy weight axle restrictions and impacts exporter and importer instructions when container doors may need to be specifically orientated, particularly for side loaders. The Container Transport Alliance Australia (CTAA) is currently investigating the scale of the issue to gauge the number of containers being delivered and picked up “doors front”. Other stevedores in Australia feature a similar stacking crane technology and provide a service to turn boxes, with an associated fee of course. It seems VICT may need to do the same.

Other issues that have arisen include VICT weighing export containers and comparing their declared weights against the actual weights recorded. Where a declared verified gross mass (VGM) differs by more than 500kg, VICT would update the information used for ship loading and impose a $130 fee to the container transport operator. However, there has been argument that the fee should be charged to the pre-receival advice (PRA) declarant instead as it is their responsibility by law to declare the correct VGM. As investigations continue as to how best to impose the fee on the parties responsible, VICT has agreed to suspend the fees until a verdict has been reached.

The 1-Stop Vehicle Booking System (VBS) at VICT also works differently than at the two other stevedores at Swanson Dock. With imports, a slot can only be booked once the container is discharged and its position in the yard is known. Transport operators will take some time become familiar with and adapt to these changes but VICT Chief Executive Mr Dommestrup hopes that “this positive collaboration between VICT and CTAA members can provide a great opportunity and platform for continued improvement within the industry.”