Hutchison Ports Stockholm (HPS) is preparing to conduct a vessel operation using its fleet of 24 automated straddle carriers as it transitions to a fully automated terminal operation.
The move aligns with the port’s efforts to enhance efficiency and reduce operational costs at its Nynäshamn facility, located 60 kilometers south of Stockholm. HPS, a subsidiary of Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), deployed the automated straddle carriers in 2023, marking the first phase of its automation strategy.
The carriers, supplied by Kalmar, a Finnish equipment manufacturer, operate with a 40-tonne lifting capacity and can handle up to 30 containers per hour, as reported by Port Technology International. The terminal handled 350,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2024, a 12% increase from 2023, according to data from the Swedish Ports Association. The transition to full automation, targeted for completion by 2027, involves integrating the straddle carriers with an automated gate system and a terminal operating system (TOS) from Navis, a U.S.-based software provider.
“Automation at HPS will increase productivity by 25% and reduce energy consumption by 15% per move,” HPS General Manager Lars Johansson stated in a 2024 interview with The Loadstar. The project, costing approximately €45 million ($48 million), includes upgrades to the terminal’s quay cranes, which will be retrofitted for remote operation by 2026, per a March 2024 announcement by HPH.
Kalmar, which supplied HPS’s straddle carriers, delivered 120 automated machines across Europe in 2024, with a 10% increase in order backlog due to demand for green technologies.
Hutchison Port Holdings, HPS’s parent company, operates 53 ports across 27 countries, handling 86.7 million TEUs in 2024, a 5% rise from 2023. The company’s investment in automation follows a €200 million ($214 million) commitment across its European terminals in 2023. HPS’s Nynäshamn terminal, operational since 2016, serves as a key hub for Ro-Ro (roll-on/roll-off) and container traffic in the Baltic Sea region. HPS’s automation project positions it to capture a larger share, targeting a 15% increase in throughput by 2028.
Kalmar is a Finnish company, part of Cargotec Corporation since 2005, specializing in port equipment like automated straddle carriers for terminal operations.