Aligning barge and terminal operations using service-time profiles

Abstract

We consider a key issue in hinterland container navigation in ports, such as Rotterdam and Antwerp, namely the barge handling problem: how to optimize the alignment of barge and terminal operations in a port. We make a major step in solving the barge handling problem for practical settings. Specifically, we consider restricted opening times of terminals, unbalanced networks, the presence of sea vessels, and closing times of containers. Consequently, at a terminal a barge faces time dependency in: (1) the waiting time until the start of handling and (2) the handling time itself. The concept of waiting profiles which we introduced in an earlier paper only deals with (1). To deal with (1) and (2) together we introduce a more comprehensive concept, namely that of service-time profile. To establish how well our approach works, we evaluate the performance of our distributed planning approach extensively by means of simulation. We compare our results with those based on centralized planning by using an off-line benchmark resembling it. We show that the Multi-Agent system that we introduce enables barge and terminal operators to align their operations efficiently. Hence, it can be seen as a promising solution approach for solving the barge handling problem, since it enables (competing) companies to collaborate in a competitive way.

Container barge congestion and handling in large seaports: a theoretical agent-based modeling approach

“…Fu, Liu and Xu meanwhile developed a simulation model to determine how to enhance barge handling. Douma et al (2011aDouma et al ( , 2011b) developed an experimental system to determine the level of cooperativeness of terminal operators in efficiently handling barges. Van der Horst and Kuipers (2013) meanwhile used a case study approach in examining barge coordination and congestion problems.…”

“…They conducted a simulation model to analyse three strategies and concluded that the centralization strategy whereby containers are consolidated offers the best strategy for all the parties involved, as it would reduce congestion at the port, reduce dwell time of cargoes and reduce the waiting time of barges at the port. Douma et al (2011aDouma et al ( , 2011b examined the alignment of barge and terminal operations using service time profile. In doing this they designed a multi-agent model.…”

“…It was discovered that barges tend to avoid going to terminals that have restricted opening times towards the end of the day because of the risk of staying overnight at the terminal. Douma et al (2011aDouma et al ( , 2011b examined the degree of terminal cooperativeness on the efficiency of the barge handling process. They developed a multi-agent system where they used the barge operators and the terminal operators as the decision-making actors.…”

Design and evaluation of a simulation game to introduce a Multi-Agent system for barge handling in a seaport

“…In this protocol (based on so-called service-time profiles) only limited information is shared, but enough to enable barge and terminal operators to organize their operations efficiently. For more information on the interaction protocol, the Multi-Agent system, and extensive simulation results we refer to [9,10].…”

“…The main two reasons are: i) they want to keep control over their own operations and ii) they are reluctant to share information that could undermine their competitive position [6]. We developed a distributed planning solution by means of a Multi-Agent system [9,10]. This solution meets the two requirements of the actors, namely that they can stay in control of their own operations and that they only need to share limited information.…”