A fresh batch of 20 autonomous trucks, a new addition to Westwell’s autonomous truck fleets, has recently arrived and will soon enter operation at Laem Chabang Port in Eastern Thailand. Located at the heart of Thailand's economic hub, the "Eastern Economic Corridor," Laem Chabang Port is the largest deep-sea container port and logistics center in Thailand. Autonomous trucks at bustling D Terminal, alongside manually driven ones, shuttle to and fro, transporting containers from various corners of the world to their intended destinations.

These autonomous trucks feature a modular design reminiscent of Lego blocks, replacing the conventional driver's cabin, and their sleek bodies tow containers to their destinations. Sutira, the Assistant Operations Manager for D Terminal at Hutchison Port Group (Thailand), carefully tracks the performance of these autonomous trucks and occasionally instructs passing truck drivers on how to cooperate with autonomous trucks.

<This photo captures an autonomous truck at Laem Chabang Port, Chonburi, Thailand, on October 19. From Xinhua News Agency>

In light of the introduction from Sutira, more than 1,000 trucks pass in and out of Terminal D every day, and now autonomous driving trucks and manned-driving trucks work together in the same area. When the first batch of six autonomous driving trucks were ran for test in April 2020, ports staff and truck drivers were curious about these autonomous driving trucks from China, looking forward to seeing their use effects and learning how to work with them.

“We work with a team from Westwell, the global provider of autonomous driving solutions based on AI technology, to train relevant personnel to work with autonomous driving trucks, including more than 30,000 truck drivers in and out of the port, ” Sutira said. Most drivers now know that autonomous driving trucks need to “keep a distance” and “close acts”, such as approaching, overtaking, and cutting in line, will force them to stop.

Yang Yujun, the project manager of Westwell in Thailand, has been providing technical support for over two years alongside the autonomous driving trucks in Laem Chabang. "Currently, the operational capacity of autonomous driving trucks has almost reached that of manually driven ones. The second batch of autonomous driving trucks arriving at the port can independently replace batteries within 6 minutes. As the proportion of port automation increases in the future, the efficiency of autonomous driving trucks will surpass that of manually driven ones," said Yang Yujun.

(Photo) <This photo from October 19 showcases the Laem Chabang Port in Chonburi, Thailand. From Xinhua News Agency>

Together by Westwell team and our customers in Thailand, the autonomous driving truck has begun to “distinguish itself” and exert an increasingly important effort to transport goods. autonomous driving trucks, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, have eased ports capacity tightness to a certain extent, Sutira said. It is understood that by the end of August 2022, the autonomous driving truck fleet has accumulated over 150,000 TEU.

Kenny, the Founder and CEO of Westwell, emphasized that a single autonomous truck can do the work of four drivers while saving energy and notably reducing carbon emissions compared to fuel-powered vehicles.

Thailand aims to transform Laem Chabang Port into a green, modern port, linking rail, road, and inland waterway transportation networks for quick, eco-friendly distribution across Thailand and neighboring countries. Autonomous trucks have now become a critical component of remote-controlled operations at the Laem Chabang Port's D Terminal. According to Stephen, General Manager of the Hutchison Port Group (Thailand), the autonomous truck project at Laem Chabang Port has become a model project and is currently being expanded to several other countries, including the UAE and the UK.

 "I've been working at Laem Chabang Port for over a decade, and it's through this project that I've come to understand Westwell’s autonomous driving technology for the first time. I'm very pleased to be part of it," Sutira said.

Xinhua News, Laem Chabang, Thailand, October 22: China Automobiles Help Thailand to Build a Modern Green Port.

Xinhua News Agency reporters: Wang Yuanyuan, Ding Ting, Zhou Rui

Editors: Zhao Xinyue, Bai Yu