Container rehandling at maritime container terminals

Abstract

In this paper, we review recent contributions dealing with the rehandling of containers at maritime container terminals. The problems studied in the paper refer to a post-stacking situation, i.e. problems arising after the stacking area has already been arranged. In order to increase efficiency of loading/unloading operations, once updated information about the state of the containers as well as of the vessels becomes available, it is possible to reshuffle the container yard, or a portion of it, in such a way that future loading operations are carried out with maximal efficiency. The increase in efficiency of loading/unloading operations has a bearing on the berthing time of the vessels, which, in turn, is a widely accepted indicator of port efficiency. Three types of post-stacking problems have been identified, namely (i) the remarshalling problem, (ii) the premarshalling problem, and (iii) the relocation problem. With respect to each of these problems, a thorough explanation of the problem itself, its relevance and its connections with other container handling issues are offered. In addition, algorithmic approaches to tackle such problems are summarized. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011.