Optimization and Simulation Approach for Empty Containers Handling

Container handling problems at the container terminals are NP-hard problems. In this paper, we propose a new handling operation’s design and simulation of empty containers, taking into account the interrelated activities at the container terminal. This simulation have been built using a doubled trailer. It moves containers from quayside to yard side or the opposite depending on the flow in container terminal, and it is used to optimize the cycle time and to improve the efficiency of the other equipment. Our interest is to test this new model first for empty containers. The proposed model is applied on a real case study data of the container terminal at Tanger Med port. This new design was developed using Arena software and verifying the strength of materials constraint for the loaded containers. The computational results show the effectiveness of the proposed model, where the cycle time of the port equipment have been reduced by -58%, and the efficiency has been increased where +47% of the moves in container terminal was achieved. Keywords—Container terminal; design; doubled trailer; simulation; arena; strength of materials; quay