"A Manual Plug Still Sits Between the Autonomous Truck and the Next Vessel"
A port does not lose a move because the autonomous truck cannot drive. It loses it when the truck is in a charge queue, the plug was seated wrong, and the next vessel is already on the berth. PD Teesport awarded Westwell a framework for autonomous horizontal container transport at Teesport Container Terminal 2. Splash247 reported the contract at €4.44 million, or $5.1 million, for electric autonomous terminal tractors and an automation system, running from October 2026 to October 2031. The truck is electric. The charge is still a manual step unless the terminal takes it out of the driver's hand.
The Charge Queue Is the Readiness Check
Mark Henderson, chief commercial officer at Rocsys, said in written comments to The Supply Chainer that terminals introducing electric, autonomous fleet vehicles need consistent, predictable operations. "That means it's critical to consider the effect manual charging will have on operational workflows." Charge time, charger availability and poorly planned charging routines can lead to long queues, insufficiently charged batteries and unplanned vehicle downtime, all of which hit fleet readiness, productivity and profitability.
To protect throughput, he said, operators should manage charging through the fleet dispatch system rather than leaving it to individual vehicles. The scheduler can use state-of-charge data and vessel forecasts to charge in natural lulls, such as gaps between vessel calls and shift changes, and make sure the fleet enters each peak well-charged. Hands-free charging, he said, is a natural complement to electric autonomous fleets. It cuts the risk of disruptions from common manual errors: low charge from equipment plugged in wrong, or expensive repairs from equipment damaged by accident. Phasing the rollout gives time to test the integration between fleet vehicles, charging equipment and existing workflows.
The same constraint is already on the record. In The Supply Chainer's piece on yard electrification, Chris Bennett, vice president of EV, energy and sustainability at Lazer Logistics, said: "The four primary considerations are duty cycle, driver scheduling, existing facility electrical capacity to support charging, and battery capacity and chemistry. The single greatest determinant to how fast this technology scales across the yard and port industries comes down to more fleets deciding to pilot an EV spotter."
A Pilot Under Quiet Conditions Is Not a Scale
Autonomous transport is ready to scale, Henderson said, when a pilot shows sustained, statistically meaningful performance under real operating conditions, not just favorable ones. The system must behave predictably around people and mixed traffic, and comply with relevant standards. Fleet availability is imperative, with low unplanned downtime and quick recovery from faults, and the system must hold up during peak demand, not just during quiet periods. Supporting evidence includes an improved cost per move or per kilometer, low remote-operator workload per vehicle, smooth integration with existing systems, and stable performance as more vehicles are added. "Together these show the operation is reliable, economical, and robust enough to expand without new risk."
A framework that puts electric autonomous tractors on a working terminal does not, by itself, decide when those tractors charge. If the charge is still a manual plug, the queue sits between the crane and the next call. Until the scheduler owns the charge, and the peak starts with a full fleet, the pilot can succeed in a quiet hour and still miss the vessel.
