DP World introduces a remote pinning station at its Southampton hub
DP World has introduced a remote pinning station at its Southampton hub, the first of its kind in the world which will improve safety and productivity during a vital part of port operations, according to the company's release.
‘Pinning’ is the process of manually placing a twistlock into the corner casting of a container to keep it in place during a journey at sea.
For the past 50 years, twistlocks were put in and taken out on the quayside, directly underneath container-bearing cranes, a hazardous environment where heavy machinery and people operate in close proximity.
The new remote pinning station at DP World Southampton is the first at any straddle carrier port in the world. The station is the size of two football pitches and is set 150 yards from the quay to further protect workers. The remote model enables the straddle carriers, which move containers handled by the quay cranes, to take each one from berth to pinning station.
DP Word’s ambition is to move 35 containers an hour. The Southampton hub already achieved two successive records for container handling earlier this year. In April, the team recorded 9,416 container moves in just 88 hours from the Hapag-Lloyd AG vessel Al Nefud.
This was made possible by a new operating model, which enabled workers to concentrate more cranes on the vessel while continuing to service other customers at the same time.
In addition to its UK hubs at Southampton and London Gateway, DP World’s offer includes logistics, forwarding and European transport capabilities, all of which are being integrated into the company’s global network.
