Berth template management for the container port of waterway-waterway transit

Abstract

As one of the most import planning problems in container port operation, the allocation of berth template to all vessels scheduled to call at the port is concerned. This paper investigates the berth template management for container port of waterway-waterway transit, which is different from traditional import and export container ports. Aiming to reduce the container transit distance between the quay side and the yard side, two main evaluation indicators are proposed to maximize the connection between mother vessels and feeder vessels. On this basis, a two-stage mathematical model with four optimization objectives is developed. Numerical experiments are also conducted to validate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method, and scenario analysis also shows the management insights for the container port of waterway-waterway transit.