Strategic allocation of cyclically calling vessels for multi-terminal container operators

Abstract

We consider a terminal operator who provides container handling services at multiple terminals within the same port. In this setting, the well-known berth allocation problem can no longer be considered for each terminal in isolation since vessel calls should be spread over the various terminals to avoid peaks and troughs in quay crane utilization, and an allocation of two connecting vessels to different terminals will generate inter-terminal container transport. In this paper, we address the problem of spreading a set of cyclically calling vessels over the various terminals and allocating a berthing and departure time to each of them. The objectives are (1) to balance the quay crane workload over the terminals and over time and (2) to minimize the amount of inter-terminal container transport. We develop a solution approach based on mixed-integer programming that allows to solve real-life instances of the problem within satisfactory time. Additionally, a practical case study is presented based on data from the terminal operator PSA Antwerp who operates multiple terminals in the port of Antwerp, Belgium. The computational results show the cost of the currently agreed schedules, and that relatively small modifications can significantly reduce the required crane capacities and inter-terminal transport.

Inter-terminal transfer between port terminals. A continuous mathematical programming model to optimize scheduling and deployment of transport units.

“…Some research such the presented in Hendriks et al, (2012) or Lee et al, (2012) considered inter terminal transportation in the context of the berth allocation problems for vessels calling at multi-terminal ports such as Antwerp and Singapore, respectively. However, optimization of the inter terminal transportation is not the main goal of neither paper and cost and time between terminals were given as an input parameter and the effect of land transport congestion or transporter allocation are out of their scope.…”

Planning and Scheduling for Maritime Container Yards

“…Vessel service is differentiated based on certain priority agreements. For other recent research on BAP, the interested reader is referred to Hendriks et al (2010), Buhrkal et al (2011), Du et al (2011), Hendriks et al (2012), and Xu et al (2012.…”

The strategic berth template problem

“…They developed a heuristic with a recursive process based on two stages: berth template and yard template. Hendriks et al (2012) addressed a BTPS under a unique berthing service circumstance where ships can berth at any terminal in a port with inter-terminal service agreements, which allow containers to be unloaded from a ship at a remote partner terminal and transferred by trucks to the terminal the ship was originally scheduled to berth. Their BTP implicitly imposed the cylinder on the model since it assumed to serve cyclically calling ships.…”