The objective of this work is to demonstrate the application of visual feedback in the container handling process to maintain crane safety and port productivity, by providing a view of the workspace and the distance between containers and obstacles to the crane operator. The real time information on the position of containers and obstacles obtained from visual feedback is used to calculate the force needed in joystick as a force feedback, to alert the operator of surrounding objects and avoid possible collision. The study involves the implementation of visual feedback using a real time color-based object detection technique in a lab-scale testbed of a quayside crane. This technique has been implemented using MATLAB Simulink and OpenCV. In the experimental testbed, visual feedback was tested on a PC-based Windows platform and a low-power, low cost single-board Linux-based computer, called the Beagle Board platform. The comparisons of performance on both platforms are reported.