Maritime Disruption Impact Evaluation Using Simulation and Big Data Analytics

Abstract

Disruptions in maritime networks may cause significant financial burden and damage to business. Recently, some international ports have been experiencing unprecedented congestions due to the COVID19 pandemic and other disruptions. It is paramount for the maritime industry to further enhance the capability to assess and predict impacts of disruptions. With more data available from industrial digitization and more advanced technologies developed for big data analytics and simulation, it is possible to build up such capability. In this study, we developed a discrete event simulation model backed with big data analytics for realistic and valid inputs to assess impacts of the Suez Canal blockage to the Port of Singapore. The simulation results reveal an interesting finding that, the blockage occurred in the Suez Canal can hardly cause significant congestion in the Port of Singapore. The work can be extended to evaluate impacts of other types of disruptions, even occurring concurrently.