Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an apparatus and a method for operating a pair of twistlocks and an associated robot. The apparatus comprises a first component adapted to clamp a first twistlock to allow the clamped first twistlock to be removed from a container; and a second component arranged adjacent to the first component and adapted to clamp a second twistlock to allow the clamped second twistlock to be removed from a container; or receive the first twistlock released from the first component to allow the first component to clamp the second twistlock. With the first and second components, the pair of twistlocks, especially mid-type twistlocks, can be operated more quickly with less operation steps. In this way, the operation efficiency for operating the mid-type twistlocks can be significantly improved with lower costs.