February 21, 2019

Maritime Terminal Solved Gull Problem with Laser Deterrent

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Ubicación:Quinteros, Chile
Application context:Installation of Agrilaser Autonomic at a maritime terminal
Problem definition:Security risks and maintenance costs due to gull droppings
Bird species: :Gulls (Laridae)
Time of the year with bird problems:All year round
Time of the day with bird problems:From dusk till dawn
Number of systems:1 x Autonomic 500
In use since:August 2018
Laser projection area:7000 m2 (1,73 acres)
Bird reduction after the Autonomic’s installation:70 %

Gull problem at the maritime terminal solved after laser bird deterrent’s installation

Oxiquim is a leader in the Chilean market in chemical distribution, maritime terminals and wooden resins.

Oxiquim provides liquid bulk storage and transfer services for ships and trucks on three terminals located in the main industrial areas of Chile:

• TMQ en La Bahía de Quintero, Región de Valparaíso
• TMC en el Golfo de Arauco, Región del Bio Bío
• TMM en La Bahía de Mejillones en la Región de Antofagasta

The gull presence at the Quintero Bay location has been reduced by 80% since installing the Agrilaser Autonomic laser bird deterrent in August 2018.

Alejandro Vera from Maintenance department of Oxiquim explains: “In Quintero we have three major problems with gulls: they cause safety issues, high maintenance costs and operational troubles.” He adds: “Some time ago we controlled the gulls with falconers. This was not an efficient solution to our problem: the falconers needed to come every day and ideally there would be two birds of prey chasing away the gulls. The gulls in this area are very brave. They once attacked a bird of prey causing it to fly away. We used to have the falconers do a flight for 4-5 days a week, this wasn’t consistent enough and the results were minor.”

Security issues at the terminal
“The floor and mooring posts at the terminal can be very slippery because of the humid environment combined with the bird droppings. This creates a dangerous working environment.

The workers that tie the ship to the mooring posts have to walk over the terminal while having the risk of slipping and falling off into the water.” – says Alejandro.

Maintenance costs
Alejandro explains about the maintenance problem: “The corrosive gull droppings can effect material in the pipes and eventually cause them to break.” He continues: “We constantly need to clean the terminal so that the material doesn’t wear out, this costs us a lot of time and money.”

Operational troubles
“We have up to 8 – 9 operations every month. The pilot decides if the area is safe and clean enough to tie up at the time of docking a ship. If the terminal is too dirty and considered unsafe by the pilot he will decide not to tie up. One waiting boat costs 1,000 USD an hour since it is anchored. If the reason for not docking is due to the terminal being unsafe and dirty, all charges will have to be covered by the terminal.”

Results after Agrilaser Autonomic’s installation
Alejandro realized he needed another solution to repel gulls from the dock. After doing some research on bird deterrent methods, he found his solution to the gull problems: ”We decided to install the Agrilaser Autonomic laser bird deterrent at our dock. The laser immediately reduced bird presence and directly decreased the cleaning costs. Before installation we had to clean at least twice every month. Since installation of the Agrilaser Autonomic we only have to clean every one and a half month. This is a reduction of at least 50%!” Alejandro adds: “I was hesitant at first about using laser technology as a bird deterrent but after giving it a try and immediately seeing the results I realized it works perfectly.”

Bird Control Group’s automated laser bird repellent provides 24/7 protection from wild birds by shining a green laser light in the area affected by the problem. Get in touch via the form below if you are interested in learning more.

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