Effect of Service Priority on the Integrated Continuous Berth Allocation and Quay Crane Assignment Problem after Port Congestion

Abstract

Container seaport congestion is a challenging problem in improving the service level and optimizing evacuating container vessels after congestion. There is a lack of research on container vessel evacuation strategies for continuous terminals. In this article, the weight of the objective function is regarded as the index for the service priority of vessels. The effects of the service priority on the continuous terminal are analyzed by establishing a mixed integer programming model. The model minimizes the total weighted delay departure time of vessels. Two sets of weight values are adopted, including handling volume of each ship and the squared handling volume, then the optimization results are compared with the unweighted scenario. The model is solved using a genetic algorithm. Lianyungang Port is selected as a case study. The results show that the method using the square of handled container volume is more conducive to ensuring the shipping period of large vessels after congestion. Besides, the quay crane number of large vessels affecting the scheduling strategy is discussed. The method proposed in this article provides a new idea for arranging scheduling strategies in other ports under congestion situations, which can better ensure the planned shipping period of large vessels.