SIMULATION OF VESSEL BERTHING USING ARENA: CASE OF BEIRUT CONTAINER TERMINAL

The main objective of this research is to analyze the current situation of Beirut Container Terminal. The proposed methodology is to mimic current terminal operations using a simulation model using ARENA software in order to identify causes of queueing occurring at berth allocation. Field research was conducted and both qualitative and quantitate data were collected using interviews, on–site observations, and online vessel tracking. A base model is developed to simulate the current operations at Beirut Container Terminal. Then, three different feasible scenarios are proposed to minimize the total time spent by the vessel at the quay side. Proposed scenarios take into consideration physical and resources expansion subject to political and financial constraints. The aim of this research is to provide a tool for the decision maker at Beirut Container Terminal in formulating an investment strategy for future expansion.

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A simulation model proposal to improve the productivity of container terminal operations through investment alternatives

Maritime Policy & Management ◽

10.1080/03088839.2018.1481544 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 46 (2) ◽

pp. 156-177 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mucahit Sislioglu ◽

Metin Celik ◽

Suleyman Ozkaynak

Keyword(s):

Simulation Model ◽

Container Terminal ◽

Container Terminal Operations ◽

Terminal Operations

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The impacts of time segment modeling in berth allocation and quay crane assignment on terminal efficiency

Industrial Management & Data Systems ◽

10.1108/imds-08-2018-0335 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 119 (5) ◽

pp. 968-992

Author(s):

Hoi-Lam Ma ◽

Zhengxu Wang ◽

S.H. Chung ◽

Felix T.S. Chan

Keyword(s):

Genetic Algorithm ◽

Container Terminal ◽

Small Time ◽

Berth Allocation ◽

Time Segment ◽

Content Type ◽

Modeling Approach ◽

Container Terminal Operations ◽

Customer Service Level ◽

Terminal Operations

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the impacts of time segment modeling approach for berth allocation and quay crane (QC) assignment on container terminal operations efficiency. Design/methodology/approach The authors model the small time segment modeling approach, based on minutes, which can be a minute, 15 min, etc. Moreover, the authors divided the problem into three sub-problems and proposed a novel three-level genetic algorithm (3LGA) with QC shifting heuristics to deal with the problem. The objective function here is to minimize the total service time by using different time segments for comparison and analysis. Findings First, the study shows that by reducing the time segment, the complexity of the problem increases dramatically. Traditional meta-heuristic, such as genetic algorithm, simulated annealing, etc., becomes not very promising. Second, the proposed 3LGA with QC shifting heuristics outperforms the traditional ones. In addition, by using a smaller time segment, the idling time of berth and QC can be reduced significantly. This greatly benefits the container terminal operations efficiency, and customer service level. Practical implications Nowadays, transshipment becomes the main business to many container terminals, especially in Southeast Asia (e.g. Hong Kong and Singapore). In these terminals, vessel arrivals are usually very frequent with small handling volume and very short staying time, e.g. 1.5 h. Therefore, a traditional hourly based modeling approach may cause significant berth and QC idling, and consequently cannot meet their practical needs. In this connection, a small time segment modeling approach is requested by industrial practitioners. Originality/value In the existing literature, berth allocation and QC assignment are usually in an hourly based approach. However, such modeling induces much idling time and consequently causes low utilization and poor service quality level. Therefore, a novel small time segment modeling approach is proposed with a novel optimization algorithm.

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A simulation model for intra-terminal transport of Container Terminal operations system

2008 IEEE International Conference on Service Operations and Logistics, and Informatics ◽

10.1109/soli.2008.4683013 ◽

2008 ◽

Author(s):

Mei Sha

Keyword(s):

Simulation Model ◽

Container Terminal ◽

Container Terminal Operations ◽

Terminal Operations

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Optimal berth allocation under regular and emergent vessel arrivals

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part M Journal of Engineering for the Maritime Environment ◽

10.1177/1475090220937888 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 147509022093788

Author(s):

Abbas Al-Refaie ◽

Hala Abedalqader

Keyword(s):

Waiting Time ◽

Container Terminal ◽

Allocation Problem ◽

Container Terminals ◽

Future Research ◽

Satisfaction Level ◽

Berth Allocation ◽

Scheduling Problems ◽

Berth Allocation Problem ◽

Quay Crane Assignment

This research proposes two optimization models to deal with the berth allocation problem. The first model considers the berth allocation problem under regular vessel arrivals to minimize the flow time of vessels in the marine container terminal, minimize the tardiness penalty costs, and maximize the satisfaction level of vessels’ operators on preferred times of departure. The second model optimizes the berth allocation problem under emergency conditions by maximizing the number of assigned vessels, minimizing the vessel’s waiting time, and maximizing the satisfaction level on the served ships. Two real examples are provided for model illustration under regular and emergent vessel arrivals. Results show that the proposed models effectively provide optimal vessel scheduling in the terminal, reduce costs at an acceptable satisfaction level of vessels’ operators, decrease the waiting time of vessels, and shorten the delay in departures under both regular and emergent vessel arrivals. In conclusion, the proposed models may provide valuable assistance to decision-makers in marine container terminals on determining optimal berth allocation under daily and emergency vessel arrivals. Future research considers quay crane assignment and scheduling problems.

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Study on the simulation model of container handling utility at the container terminal

10.1063/5.0063470 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mohammad Irfan Zaki ◽

Muhammad Arif Budiyanto

Keyword(s):

Simulation Model ◽

Container Terminal ◽

Container Handling

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A New Memetic Approach to Solve the Strategic Berth Template Problem

International Journal of Applied Metaheuristic Computing ◽

10.4018/ijamc.2021070110 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 212-231

Author(s):

Issam El Hammouti ◽

Azza Lajjam ◽

Mohamed El Merouani

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Container Terminal ◽

Mathematical Formulation ◽

Population Based ◽

Allocation Problem ◽

Computational Time ◽

Berth Allocation ◽

Berth Allocation Problem ◽

Simulating Annealing ◽

Annealing Algorithm

The berth allocation problem is one of the main concerns of port operators at a container terminal. In this paper, the authors study the berth allocation problem at the strategic level commonly known as the strategic berth template problem (SBTP). This problem aims to find the best berth template for a set of calling ships accepted to be served at the port. At strategic level, port operator can reject some ships to be served for avoid congestion. Since the computational complexity of the mathematical formulation proposed for SBTP, solution approaches presented so far for the problem are limited especially at level of large-scale instances. In order to find high quality solutions with a short computational time, this work proposes a population based memetic algorithm which combine a first-come-first-served (FCFS) technique, two genetics operators, and a simulating annealing algorithm. Different computational experiences and comparisons against the best known solutions so far have been presented to show the performance and effectiveness of the proposed method.

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Population-based Metaheuristics for the Dynamic Minimum Cost Hybrid Berth Allocation Problem

International Journal of Artificial Intelligence Tools ◽

10.1142/s0218213021500172 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 30 (04) ◽

pp. 2150017

Author(s):

Nataša Kovač ◽

Tatjana Davidović ◽

Zorica Stanimirović

Keyword(s):

Container Terminal ◽

Mathematical Formulation ◽

Minimum Cost ◽

Population Based ◽

Allocation Problem ◽

Maritime Transportation ◽

Mixed Integer ◽

Berth Allocation ◽

Berth Allocation Problem ◽

Metaheuristic Methods

This study considers the Dynamic Minimum Cost Hybrid Berth Allocation Problem (DMCHBAP) with fixed handling times of vessels. The objective function to be minimized consists of three components: costs of positioning, waiting, and tardiness of completion for all vessels. A mathematical formulation of DMCHBAP, based on Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP), is proposed and used within the framework of commercial CPLEX 12.3 solver. As the speed of finding high-quality solutions is of crucial importance for an efficient and reliable decision support system in container terminal, two population-based metaheuristic approaches to DMCHBAP are proposed: combined Genetic Algorithm (cGA) and improvement-based Bee Colony Optimization (BCOi). Both cGA and BCOi are evaluated and compared against each other and against state-of-the-art solution methods for DMCHBAP on five sets of problem instances. The conducted computational experiments and statistical analysis indicate that population-based metaheuristic methods represent promising approaches for DMCHBAP and similar problems in maritime transportation.

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