Optimization model for berth and transshipment scheduling

Abstract

Several research works have focused on Berth Allocation Problem (BAP) with the consideration of transshipment of ship-to-ship. However, to the most of our knowledge, there are no studies, that decide whether direct transshipment service should be made according to vessel’s berthing time in the continuous (BAP) variant where vessels can berth anywhere alongside quays. To fill this gap, this study introduces the continuous (BAP) and formulates a novel mathematical model, which deals with the question of direct transshipment. The aim is to minimize the dwell times and the penalty accrued by tardy vessels [1]. Firstly, a mixed integer linear program is implemented to schedule incoming vessels to berthing positions and decide the transshipment method needed for each couple of vessels. Secondly, a genetic algorithm is proposed to solve large-scale problem instances. Numerical experiments were conducted, and the results are analysed and compared on a set of randomly generated instances. The designed solution approach provides near optimal solutions for comparable real size problems in a reasonable amount of time.