Space-sharing Strategies for Storage Yard Management in a Transshipment Hub Port

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Sea Container Terminals

Due to a rapid growth in world trade and a huge increase in containerized goods, sea container terminals play a vital role in globe-spanning supply chains. Container terminals should be able to handle large ships, with large call sizes within the shortest time possible, and at competitive rates. In response, terminal operators, shipping liners, and port authorities are investing in new technologies to improve container handling infrastructure and operational efficiency. Container terminals face challenging research problems which have received much attention from the academic community. The focus of this paper is to highlight the recent developments in the container terminals, which can be categorized into three areas: (1) innovative container terminal technologies, (2) new OR directions and models for existing research areas, and (3) emerging areas in container terminal research. By choosing this focus, we complement existing reviews on container terminal operations

Sequence-Based Simulation-Optimization Framework With Application to Port Operations at Multimodal Container Terminals

It is evident in previous works that operations research and mathematical algorithms can provide optimal or near-optimal solutions, whereas simulation models can aid in predicting and studying the behavior of systems over time and monitor performance under stochastic and uncertain circumstances. Given the intensive computational effort that simulation optimization methods impose, especially for large and complex systems like container terminals, a favorable approach is to reduce the search space to decrease the amount of computation. A maritime port can consist of multiple terminals with specific functionalities and specialized equipment. A container terminal is one of several facilities in a port that involves numerous resources and entities. It is also where containers are stored and transported, making the container terminal a complex system. Problems such as berth allocation, quay and yard crane scheduling and assignment, storage yard layout configuration, container re-handling, customs and security, and risk analysis become particularly challenging. Discrete-event simulation (DES) models are typically developed for complex and stochastic systems such as container terminals to study their behavior under different scenarios and circumstances. Simulation-optimization methods have emerged as an approach to find optimal values for input variables that maximize certain output metric(s) of the simulation. Various traditional and nontraditional approaches of simulation-optimization continue to be used to aid in decision making. In this dissertation, a novel framework for simulation-optimization is developed, implemented, and validated to study the influence of using a sequence (ordering) of decision variables (resource levels) for simulation-based optimization in resource allocation problems. This approach aims to reduce the computational effort of optimizing large simulations by breaking the simulation-optimization problem into stages. Since container terminals are complex stochastic systems consisting of different areas with detailed and critical functions that may affect the output, a platform that accurately simulates such a system can be of significant analytical benefit. To implement and validate the developed framework, a large-scale complex container terminal discrete-event simulation model was developed and validated based on a real system and then used as a testing platform for various hypothesized algorithms studied in this work

INNOVATIVE SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION STUDIES ON GRID SYSTEM FOR TRANSSHIPMENT TERMINAL

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Strategies to increase port competitiveness

Improving the competitiveness of local businesses and their products within worldwide markets is a vital element for the long-term economic growth of a region. This paper presents a summary of ongoing research needs and outcomes formulated from a partnership between the University of Queensland and the Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd (PBPL), in order to facilitate international trade growth in Queensland and improve PBPL’s competitiveness. As part of this partnership with PBPL, we explore strategies to overcome inefficiencies in supply chain and infrastructure and discuss subsequent prospects for further investigation. The key goals of the partnership program for transport-related issues have been identified as: (i) providing a platform for freight actors trading through the port, in order to increase the performance of their logistics operations by adopting cooperative strategies; (ii) exploring modal shift opportunities to enhance the sustainability and the efficiency of the logistics operations of importers and exporters; (iii) facilitating improved inland supply chains for local export commodities through new trans-shipment points, back-loading opportunities, and logistics cost minimisation

Transshipment port selection in the strait of Gibraltar

JEL Classification System: L920; R420The purpose of this study is to understand which factors impact more in the transshipment container port selection process in Gibraltar range. Analytical Hierarchy Process is applied through a survey. A random sample of 27 respondents ranked criteria based on pairwise comparisons and evaluated transshipment container ports through a 5-point Likert scale. The results suggest that vessel turn-around time, the proximity to the main navigation routes and the handling and storage cost of containers are the criteria that most impact in the transshipment port selection process. Further analysis could also extend to the switching costs in the transshipment business through previous cases, framing a cost-benefit analysis. Another future direction for research is a study in transshipment port selection with a higher number of respondents, comparing different perspectives, from maritime carriers to terminal managers, amongst others stakeholders. The results suggest that Port of Algeciras is the one that most fulfills productive criteria; Port of Tanger is the most competitive regarding costs; Port of Valencia has been able to balance transshipment and gateway services. This study is one of the first attempts to demonstrate the theoretical concepts of transshipment in one of the busiest bottleneck areas. The value of this study relies that academics and professionals may have supporting evidence that costs and productivity are the most valuable transshipment port criteria. The current situation in the transshipment in Gibraltar range could also be valued by port managers to define and prioritize new investments.O objetivo deste estudo é perceber quais os fatores mais relevantes na tomada de decisão de um porto de contentores de transshipment na zona do Estreito de Gibraltar. O método Analytical Hierarchy Process é utilizado através da construção de um questionário. Os 27 inquiridos hierarquizaram um conjunto de critérios através de comparações aos pares e avaliaram os portos através de uma escala de Likert de 5 níveis. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que o tempo de transbordo, a proximidade com as principais rotas marítimas e o custo de transbordo e armazenagem de contentores são os critérios mais relevantes aquando a tomada de decisão. É recomendada uma maior investigação, abrangendo os custos de troca de um porto transshipment, através do estudo de casos anteriores, construindo uma análise custo-benefício. Outra possibilidade passa pelo estudo do processo de seleção de um porto transshipment com um maior número de inquiridos, comparando perspetivas de diferentes intervenientes. Os resultados sugerem que o porto de Algeciras é o que melhor preenche os critérios de produtividade; o porto de Tanger é o mais competitivo em termos de custos; o porto de Valência tem sido capaz de apresentar um equilíbrio como porto de transshipment e como porto gateway. Este estudo é um dos primeiros a aplicar os conceitos teóricos associados ao transshipment a uma das áreas geográficas mais relevantes para o negócio. Académicos e profissionais dispõem assim de evidência prática de que os custos e a produtividade são dos critérios mais relevantes no processo de decisão, ajudando-os a definir e priorizar novos investimentos