Study and analysis of seaport operations and productivity improvement by optimised berth utilisation

Abstract

The present scenario shows an exponential increase in competition between seaports. Individual ports have to effectively operate cargo handling capacities to meet the requirements of the exporters who set an international benchmark. Ports should ensure maximum utilisation of infrastructural facilities to foster price competitiveness. This paper was aimed at increasing the productivity of the port by optimised berth utilisation. Problems in the existing system were identified through various operational studies. To investigate this hypothesis, regression analysis was done on the data which helped us identify the most significant factor that affected the efficiency of the port. Crew and transport scheduling model was developed to provide an optimum scheduling sequence, which reduced the turn round time of the vessel. Finally, to depict the gross impact, cost comparisons were done. The system was re-instigated with the proposed changes resulting in a significant decrease of the turn round time, hence satisfying the demand.