Vehicles await loading onto a pure car and truck carrier in this undated photo. Courtesy of Hyundai Glovis
Hyundai Glovis said Wednesday it will introduce its in-house artificial intelligence (AI)-based stowage planning system for its pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs) to improve efficiency and safety in maritime vehicle transport.
Stowage planning involves designing how cargo is arranged on a vessel to ensure smooth operations and safe delivery.
The new system uses a data model that divides a car carrier’s interior into detailed decks and zones, mapping structural features and vehicle movement paths. Based on this model, the AI determines optimal loading routes and positions for each vehicle.
By inputting vehicle types, volumes and ports of loading and discharge, the algorithm automatically generates the most efficient loading plan. It checks for movement bottlenecks, height and weight limits, and ensures the loading sequence matches unloading schedules at each port before finalizing the plan.
Car carriers, which transport more than 6,000 vehicles per voyage, pose unique challenges because each vessel has a different internal structure and cargo composition varies by trip, making standardized planning difficult.
Poorly designed plans can block vehicles scheduled for early unloading behind those bound for later destinations, requiring time-consuming reloading that causes delays and extra costs.
A Hyundai Glovis official said the system has cut planning time by half compared with conventional methods. “As the technology advances, we expect the time required to fall by more than 90 percent,” the official said.
Source: Korea Times News
