Developing a robust optimization model for seaside operations in container terminal under uncertainty environment

Abstract

This paper discusses the robust optimization model development to integrate tactical decisions on seaside operations in container terminal, that is consist of Tactical Berth Allocation Problem and Specific Quay Crane Assignment Problem by considering the uncertainty of vessel arrival time and the number of containers to be discharged and loaded into the arrived vessels, which also affects the uncertainty of handling time required. The development of optimization model considers container terminal managers and shipping liner owners viewpoints. Thus, this optimization model has two objective functions, i.e. minimizing total costs of seaside operations and maximizing service levels for shipping liners. Since these two tactical decisions for seaside operations under uncertainty conditions are inter-related each other, the robust optimization model is solved by using exact method, which is applied to a numerical example in the small-scale problem for testing the effectiveness of the proposed method.