A.: Using Simulation in Evaluating Berth Allocation at a Container Terminal

The operations and decision making at a container terminal have been simulated. A Berth Allocation Management System – (BAMS) has been built which consists of two parts: a container terminal simulator modelling the operations and a management simulator modelling the various actors involved in the allocation of container ships to berths. Together these two parts generate berth schedules for arriving container ships. Two berth assignment policies are evaluated in different scenarios, with various quay lengths, berth spacing lengths, and ship arrival sequences. The decisions in assigning ships with different loading and discharging demands to a limited amount of resources, such as berth space and cranes are analysed with the BAMS. The berths at the container terminal are modelled by the BAMS to be dynamic in the sense that berth segmentation is based on the current situation rather than being static. The policies are evaluated in terms of turn-around time and distance travelled by the straddle carriers. The simulation results indicate that an informed choice of berth assignment policy can provide better use of the available resources, e.g., by reducing turn-around time and/or distance travelled by the straddle carriers. 1