Evaluation of ships turnaround time in port with approach channel

Abstract

The operation efficiency of a port with an approach channel to a great extent depends on decisions made by the port authority and harbor master over the channel scheduling. Currently there are no formal methods which allow to evaluate the influence of the channel schedule on the ship turnaround time, especially when the throughput capacity is restricted. The relevant system has a complex structure that rules out common mathematical methods. The paper studies some typical structures of these systems and offers an approach for developing adequate simulation models. These models enable the conduct of comparative studies of different variants of approach channel scheduling and serve as a toolkit to support the decision-making procedure for harbor master and port operators.