Evaluating the Location Efficiency of Arabian and African Seaports Using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

In this paper the efficiency and performance is evaluated for 22 seaports in the region of East Africa and the Middle East. The aim of our study is to compare seaports situated on the maritime trade road between the East and the West. These are considered as middledistance ports at which goods from Europe and Far East/Australia can be exchanged and transhipped to all countries in the Middle East and East Africa. All these seaports are regional coasters, and dhow trade was built on these locations, leading this part of the world to become an important trade centre. Data was collected for 6 years (2000-2005) and a non-parametric linear programming method, DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) is applied. The ultimate goal of our study is: 1) to estimate the performance levels of the ports under consideration. This will help in proposing solutions for better performance and developing future plans. 2) to select optimum transhipment locations.Middle East and East African Seaports; Data Envelopment Analysis; Seaports Efficiency; Performance measurement of Containers Ports; transshipment.

Evaluating different cost-benefit analysis methods for port security operations

Service industries, such as ports, are attentive to their standards, a smooth service flow and economic viability. Cost benefit analysis has proven itself as a useful tool to support this type of decision making; it has been used by businesses and governmental agencies for many years. In this book chapter we demonstrate different modelling methods that are used for estimating input factors required for conducting cost benefit analysis based on a single case study. These methods are: scenario analysis, decision trees, Monte-Carlo simulation modelling and discrete event simulation modelling. Our aims are, on the one hand, to guide the analyst through the modelling processes and, on the other hand, to demonstrate what additional decision support information can be obtained from applying each of these modelling methods

Evaluating different cost-benefit analysis methods for port security operations

Service industries, such as ports, are attentive to their standards, a smooth service flow and economic viability. Cost benefit analysis has proven itself as a useful tool to support this type of decision making; it has been used by businesses and governmental agencies for many years. In this book chapter we demonstrate different modelling methods that are used for estimating input factors required for conducting cost benefit analysis based on a single case study. These methods are: scenario analysis, decision trees, Monte-Carlo simulation modelling and discrete event simulation modelling. Our aims are, on the one hand, to guide the analyst through the modelling processes and, on the other hand, to demonstrate what additional decision support information can be obtained from applying each of these modelling methods

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

INTEROPERABILITY FOR MODELING AND SIMULATION IN MARITIME EXTENDED FRAMEWORK

This thesis reports on the most relevant researches performed during the years of the Ph.D. at the Genova University and within the Simulation Team. The researches have been performed according to M&S well known recognized standards. The studies performed on interoperable simulation cover all the environments of the Extended Maritime Framework, namely Sea Surface, Underwater, Air, Coast & Land, Space and Cyber Space. The applications cover both the civil and defence domain. The aim is to demonstrate the potential of M&S applications for the Extended Maritime Framework, applied to innovative unmanned vehicles as well as to traditional assets, human personnel included. A variety of techniques and methodology have been fruitfully applied in the researches, ranging from interoperable simulation, discrete event simulation, stochastic simulation, artificial intelligence, decision support system and even human behaviour modelling

Terminal expansion model for a container port for Johor port

At present, container terminal’s expansion models did not consider small changes in commercial viability with small changes in expansion size over time. This study intends to develop an alternative container terminal’s expansion model based on marginal approach. The treatment of each of these variables should be done separately for the increase in demand that may require one variable to be immediately expanded while other variables may have cope with and sustain the increase in demand. An algorithm’s expansion model is generated to calculate the expansion size, expansion time, interval of expansion and significant of expansion for each of the expansion variables, respectively. A case study was performed in Johor Port Berhad to validate the practicability and workability of the algorithm model. The initial result shows that the subsequent expansion for rubber tyred gantry crane starts in the year 2021. The expansion size of quay crane and rubber tyred gantry crane is one unit per time. The expansion size of prime mover is two units per time. The first expansion time for quay crane is in the year 2023, and the interval period is four to five years. The first expansion time for rubber tyred gantry crane is in the year 2021, and the interval period is one to two years. The first expansion time for prime mover is in the year 2025, and the interval period is one to two years. The reason for the one year allowance of the interval period is because the expansion size is based on the unit of infrastructure purchase and not based on 20-foot equivalent unit capacity. All the expansion stage is positive for the net present value. On the other hand, the algorithm model shows that the berth capacity requirement, container park area, container freight station and terminal other areas are sustainable over the planning time horizon and not based on expansion required. The research has successfully identified five key infrastructural components of the container terminal, and developed a generic mathematical model to calculate the marginal expansion required

Mixing quantitative and qualitative methods for sustainable transportation in Smart Cities

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

Transport 2040 : analysis of technical developments in transport - maritime, air, rail and road

A number of technical and socio-technical factors are driving the development and adoption of automation. The report, Transport 2040: Automation, Technology, Employment – The Future of Work, provided an overview of the most important trends forecasted to affect the global transport sector by 2040. This current report provides additional details of that assessment. The research conducted is guided by a transport-technology analytical model that provides a structure for a systematic review across different modes of transport. This report reviews, in particular, the transportation technology through the lens of transport vehicles (e.g. ships, trucks, trains, aircraft) and the technical infrastructure that is needed for the operation of the vehicle (e.g. waterways and harbours, roads, railway tracks and freight terminals, as well as controlled airspace and airports).https://commons.wmu.se/lib_reports/1076/thumbnail.jp

Analysis of marine container terminal gate congestion, truck waiting cost, and system optimization

As world container volume continues to grow and the introduction of 12,000 TEUs plus containerships into major trade routes, the port industry is under pressure to deal with the ever increasing freight volume. Gate congestion at marine container terminal is considered a major issue facing truckers who come to the terminal for container pickup and delivery. Harbor truckers operate in a very competitive environment; they are paid by trip, not by the hours they drive. Gate congestion is not only detrimental to their economic well-being, but also causes environmental pollution. This thesis applies a multi-server queuing model to analyze marine terminal gate congestion and quantify truck waiting cost. In addition, an optimization model is developed to minimize gate system cost. Extensive data collection includes field observations and online camera observation and terminal day-to-day operation records. Comprehensive data analysis provides a solid foundation to support the development of the optimization model. The queuing analysis indicates that there is a substantial truck waiting cost incurred during peak season. Three optimization alternatives are explored. The results prove that optimization by appointment is the most effective way to reduce gate congestion and improve system efficiency. Lastly, it is the recommendation to use the combination of optimization by appointment and productivity improvement to mitigate terminal gate congestion and accommodate the ever growing container volume

An Investigation to Evaluate the Feasibility of an Intermodal Freight Transport System.

The threat of greenhouse gases and the resulting climate change have been causing concern at international levels. This has led towards new sustainable policies towards reducing the anthropogenic effects on the environment and the population through promoting sustainable solutions for the freight industry. The research was prompted by the growing concerns that were no mode-choice tool to select as an alternative to road freight transport. There were growing concerns that a large percentage of transport related negativities, related various costs and pollution costs, losses arising from traffic accidents, delay costs from congestion and abatement costs due to climate impacts of transport, etc., were not being borne by the user. Economists have defined them as external costs. Internalising these external costs has been regarded as an efficient way to share the transport related costs. The aim of this research was to construct a freight mode choice model, based on total transport costs, as a mode choice substitution tool. This model would allow the feasibility of choosing alternative intermodal system to a primarily ‘road system’. The thesis postulates a novel model in computing total freight transport costs incurred during the total transit of goods along three North European transport corridors. The model evaluated the total costs summing the internal, external and time costs for varied mode choices from unimodal and the second level of intermodal transport systems. The research outcomes have shown the influences of total costs on the shipper and the preferred mode choices from the available mode/route options with sustainable transport solutions. The impacts of such alternatives were evaluated in this research. This will allow the embedding of intermodal infrastructures as sustainable and alternative mode choices for the freight industry