A Discrete Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm for Archipelago Berth Allocation Problem

According to the special circumstances of the archipelago berth allocation, this paper proposes a model of Archipelago Berth Allocation Problem(ABAP), which considers numerous constraints such as the adaptability of berths, the depth of channels and the characteristics of ships. The objective of the problem is to minimize the sum of the handling time, waiting time and the sailing time in the port area of every ship. We introduce a formulation for solving this problem. Next, we present a Discrete Particle Swarm Optimization (DPSO) to find an approximate solution for the problem. Some reasonable parameters of DPSO are determined through several tests. Finally, we set the Zhoushan Islands, China as an example. Computational experiments show that the algorithm is effective, and has achieved great results in terms of stability, convergence and running time.