BEST terminal breaks the historical record of move per vessel call in the Port of Barcelona for three consecutive weeks

In the current context, marked by the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic, terminals are showing a considerable drop in overall port volumes, this associated with a decline in economic activity, and with a large number of blank sailings due to shipping lines’ attempts to align capacity with existing demand. However, the paradox is that despite the fact that calls and volume arriving at the Port of Barcelona’s BEST terminal have decreased, moves per call ratio have significantly increased.

During week 23, BEST terminal welcomed the largest vessel to call at the Port of Barcelona, MSC Sixin, with a capacity of almost 24,000 TEUs. Subsequently, similar ships from the 2M alliance have been arriving on a recurring basis covering the route between the Far East and Europe, grouping together all the moves that a few weeks ago were made between different services of the same alliance and which were cancelled due to the exceptional situation we are experiencing.

During May and June, BEST terminal has seen how the number of moves per call has broken all existing historical records in the Port of Barcelona - starting with almost 8,000 moves in week 22, all move records have been shattered week after week, until reaching almost 8,500 moves in week 24.
This change in demand, with large cargo concentration peaks on large deep-sea vessels and a smaller number of calls, directly impacts on the way terminals must approach the services they offer.
The way to put forward a valuable proposal to shipping lines with these types of calls, is to offer productivity per call that exceeds by far the average efficiency in container terminals. With this in mind, it is key to highlight the relevance of the important investments made by BEST, both in the number of cranes available and capable of operating these types of ships, and in the operating system at all levels (equipment and TOS), which has made it possible to maintain, on a constant basis, productivity per crane between 35 and 45 moves per hour and a large number of equipment working simultaneously on the ships. In these specific instances, which are so important, we have worked with up to seven cranes and on average more than five cranes operating constantly during each call, and with productivity levels above 35 moves per hour per crane (sometimes exceeding 42 moves per hour), far above the average for European terminals, which is normally below 25 moves per hour per crane. These facts enable us to complete these operations in approximately a couple of days generating competitive advantages to the shipping lines that operate in BEST.
Productivity - frequently exceeding 200 moves per hour on-board the ship - reduces call time at the port by several days, thus lowering the shipping lines’ port and operational costs. Furthermore, time gained at BEST, enables shipping lines to cut navigation speed to reach their next port of call, thus also leading to significant fuel savings. Finally, the terminal operates with equipment that, for the most part, does not use fossil fuels and applies energy-regeneration technology, allowing BEST to reduce the environmental impact of maritime traffic in its area of influence.
In short, BEST’s operational efficiency complements the Port of Barcelona’s strategic position, generating a competitive difference based on three fundamental pillars: Closer, Faster & Greener.