Robotic terminal in Busan stands out on the agenda of the Port & Maritime Mission in South Korea

The Dongwon Global Terminal at the Port of Busan, in South Korea, was reopened three months ago in a new, fully automated space. There are no workers operating in the internal area of the container yard and all operations are carried out by robots. Entrepreneurs and officials participating in the Brazil-South Korea 2024 Port & Maritime International Mission, organized by Grupo Tribuna, visited the terminal today, in the penultimate day of the trip.

The truck driver arrives at the Dongwon Global Terminal receives information on which bay to park the vehicle, maneuvers it and that's it — just wait. From there, technology takes over. A robot retrieves the container that the truck driver needs to deliver inland. But before being in the terminal yard, the container was on a ship. The operation to remove it from the vessel was performed by an operator in an air-conditioned room. Not even the vehicle that takes the container to the yard has a driver.

"The only people we see are the truck drivers, on the outside. They leave the truck, including the cab, to receive the container", highlights Angelino Caputo, executive director of the Brazilian Association of Terminals and Customs Warehouses (Abtra).

It is the country's first fully automated terminal and has been operational since March. But the company's history with Busan is not recent. The first terminal was located at North Port Busan, the oldest in the area. In pursuit of expansion, the company chose to invest in a new terminal in the region now known as the New Port of Busan.

The local Port Authority created the area with growth projected up to 2040. Thus, what Dongwon had at North Port was deactivated. However, all workers were retained in the company. The difference is that they were trained for new roles.

"When they developed and changed the terminal, it was clear they wanted and want productivity, cost reduction and to enhance the country's foreign trade competitiveness. This is a country where 75% of the GDP is related to foreign trade", says Sérgio Aquino, president of the National Federation of Port Operations (Fenop).

The professional requalification of workers is part of korean culture. "Therefore, the itinerary of the trip was important, starting by showing the vision and the importance that the population gives to research and technological development in the country", says Aquino.

Artificial intelligence aids in achieving necessary automation To achieve this level of automation, the company contracted by Dongwon Global Terminal to perform the service introduced artificial intelligence, IoT (Internet of Things), big data, hyper automation (the concept of automating everything that can be automated) and digital twin (technology that mirrors the real world).

Rose Fassina, vice-president of the Industrial and Port Park Association of Alemoa (AMA), highlighted the complexity developed in the terminal to reach this level of innovation. "The model we saw here is of great relevance. I'm not sure how long it will take us to achieve such a complex system, but we're on the way".

Murillo Barbosa, CEO of the Association of Private Port Terminals (ATP), believes this technology could reach Brazil. "It's our future. At some point, we will have to pursue this automation", he says, emphasizing that the process within the terminal changes with robotization. "Trucks with drivers are serviced outside by a crane".

Security Eduardo Freire, CEO of Yaman, a company in the area of asset security, saw an increase in security with automation. Regarding assets, he believes that "with much fewer people moving inside the terminal access control is tighter and more efficient".

In terms of workplace safety, Freire noted a decrease in accidents. "There are only machines working in the terminal".

Empresários e autoridades que integram a Missão Internacional Porto & Mar Brasil - Coreia do Sul 2024, do Grupo Tribuna, visitaram o terminal nesta quinta-feira (20) (Rodrigo Nardelli/TV Tribuna)

Angelino Caputo also observed the safety in operations. "Repetitive and risky tasks like these are globally trending towards not being performed by people anymore".

Another terminal The delegation also visited the PSA Pnit terminal in the new port, where operations are partially automated. Most of the operation involves transshipment, where containers arrive in one ship and depart in another.