Selecting ports and terminal operators - An application of PSO

Abstract

Past literature has mostly discussed port selection. However, within a given region, any port which meets a carrier's threshold conditions is eligible for consideration, and a terminal operator at any of these ports is a candidate for entering into a contract with the carrier. The choice is not restricted to terminal operators at a single given port. Thus the choice of terminal operator between ports within a given region is an important issue in the decision-making process and has rarely been addressed in the literature. The main purpose of this paper is to examine a situation in which all ports in a country or region meet the minimum criteria set by carriers, and how carriers then select terminal operators.