Title: Analysis of operations of port using mathematical and simulation modelling

Authors: Suchithra Rajendran; Sharan Srinivas; Chanchal Saha

Addresses: Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA ' Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA ' Department of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA

Abstract: This paper proposes an integer linear programming (ILP) and discrete event simulation (DES) models for minimising the waiting time of ships at Port of X (PoX). The port consists of three docks that accommodate different types of ships. Each dock is facilitated with a fixed number of berths that allow ships to be anchored, and there is a common access channel through which a ship enters or leaves the docks. The objective of this paper is to minimise the waiting time of ships while entering and leaving the port. First, an ILP model is developed to schedule the ships at the port and the effect of ship waiting time is observed. Due to the computational complexity of the ILP model, a DES model is developed. The experimental results indicate that capacity relocation of berths reduced the waiting time of ships by 77% compared to the current scenario.

Keywords: ports; berths; docks; ships; ship scheduling; integer linear programming; ILP; discrete event simulation; DES; ship waiting times; ship prioritisation; capacity relocation; port operations; mathematical modelling; docking.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLSM.2015.068429

International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, 2015 Vol.20 No.3, pp.325 - 347

Published online: 15 Apr 2015 *

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