Japanese shipowner Mitsui O.S.K. Lines has signed a lease for four berths at the newly expanded Kobe International Container Terminal in Japan, a facility set to handle about 40% of the Port of Kobe’s containerised international cargo, according to Mitsui O.S.K. Lines.
The agreement with Kobe-Osaka International Port Corporation covers berths PC14-17 at South Pier in the Port Island Phase 2 area. KICT will move from a three-berth to a four-berth configuration, with Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, or K Line, joining MOL, Sankyu Inc., The Sumitomo Warehouse Co., Ltd. and Nickel & Lyons Ltd. at the terminal.
Total quay length will increase from 1,050 metres to 1,750 metres, giving vessels more flexible berthing windows and improving transshipment connections with other services. The expanded area has 12 new electric rubber-tyred gantry cranes equipped for remote control. Operators will be able to handle the cranes from a dedicated operations building instead of boarding the equipment, reducing physical strain and exposure to bad weather while improving productivity and safety.
MOL also began full-scale, around-the-clock operation of its CONPAS port information system at the end of March. The Container Fast Pass system shares real-time gate-in and gate-out data, uses IC-equipped PS cards carried by trailer drivers and supports reservations aimed at cutting truck waiting times and terminal gate congestion.
The company is also installing solar panels at container gates and on logistics-facility rooftops to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Port Island Phase 2 is a 390-hectare artificial island south of Port Island where reclamation was completed in 2010. Its port infrastructure includes 208 hectares of wharf and logistics facilities and a six-berth deep-water container terminal with water depths of 15 to 16 metres.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. is headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo, and is led by president and chief executive Jotaro Tamura.
Kobe-Osaka International Port Corporation is headquartered in Chuo-ku, Kobe, and is led by president Takafumi Kido.