Berth and quay crane scheduling: problems, models and solution methods

Abstract

A comprehensive study on berth and quay crane scheduling problems at container terminals at seaports is provided. Problems related to both multi-user terminals, where the terminal operator and liner carriers are different parties, and dedicated terminals, where liner carriers lease the terminal, are considered. A lower bound and an effective meta-heuristic algorithm are proposed for a dynamic variant of the Berth Allocation Problem (BAP). The Multiple Berth Allocation Problem (MBAP) is also introduced. Different crane scheduling methods used by terminal operators are analyzed and a tabu search algorithm is designed for a new variant of the Quay Crane Scheduling Problem (QCSP). The Simultaneous Berth and Quay Crane Scheduling Problem (BQCSP) is introduced with a lower bound analysis and an efficient solution method. A computational analysis is performed which exposes the substantial benefit of simultaneous planning over the hierarchical approach currently used by terminal operators. The tactical level Voyage and Berth Scheduling Problem (VBSP) is defined and a mathematical model based on multi-commodity network flow is presented. Constraints related to transshipments, terminal time windows and service level requirements are incorporated into the model, and how to modify instance data to increase schedule reliability is discussed.