A new roll-on roll-off freight loading system for ferries has harnessed car
production-line technology to load ships five times faster than usual. It uses
automated guided vehicles to load truck containers quickly and efficiently,
manoeuvring them speedily into storage channels behind a kerb before
automatically securing them in position. A driver and tractor can take up to 12
hours to do the job. The patented Improved Port Ship Interface (IPSI), designed
by an international consortium led by Hamworthy KSE of Poole, Dorset, is able to
do this in just over two hours.
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