Automated Container Terminal (ACT)

An Automated Container Terminal (ACT) is a marine box terminal where horizontal transport and yard stacking run without drivers, using automated guided vehicles (AGVs) or shuttle carriers to move containers between the quay and stacking blocks served by automated stacking cranes (ASC) or automated rail-mounted gantries (ARMG). Quay cranes may stay manned or run semi-automated. ECT Delta (Rotterdam, 1993) was the first AGV-based terminal; APM Terminals Maasvlakte II and Long Beach LBCT are later full-automation references. ACTs use OCR gates, a terminal operating system, and twistlock automation to remove human handling from the container path.