A Genetic Algorithm for Solving a Container Storage Problem Using a Residence Time Strategy

At each port of destination, some containers are unloaded from a vessel and stored in the terminal to be delivered to their customers. One of the strategies used to arrange the containers in a terminal is residence time strategy: based on their delivery deadlines, each incoming container being assigned to a priority class. The aim of this study is to determine a valid arrangement of incoming containers in a block (part) of the terminal, in the shortest amount of time, with higher priority containers located above lower priority ones. In this way, some of the main objectives of a container terminal may be achieved: avoiding further reshuffles (number of relocations) and reducing the vessel berthing time. We developed a genetic algorithm and its performance is evaluated against a random stacking strategy used as benchmark for the experiments, and through several sets of tests on control parameters. All the tests showed that, if a reliable estimation of the delivery time can be assigned to every incoming container, the proposed method may be a useful tool for container terminal operators.