This paper considers the integrated problem of quay crane assignment, quay crane scheduling, yard location assignment, and vehicle dispatching operations at a container terminal. The main objective is to minimize vessel turnover times and maximize the terminal throughput, which are key economic drivers in terminal operations. Due to their computational complexities, these problems are not optim...

This paper puts forward an integrated optimisation model that combines two distinct problems arising in container terminals, namely the Quay Crane Assignment Problem, and the Quay Crane Scheduling Problem. The model is of the mixed-integer programming type with the objective being to minimise the tardiness of vessels. Although exact solutions can be found to the problem using Branch-and-Cut, fo...

This report compares the performance of three double-cycling algorithms used to determine the sequence with which to load and unload containers from a vessel with a quay crane. Double cycling is a technique which can improve the efficiency of a quay crane and container port by unloading and loading containers in the same crane cycle. The three algorithms, the greedy strategy, the proximal strat...

In the Berth Allocation Problem (BAP) the aim is to optimally schedule and assign ships to berthing areas along a quay. The objective is the minimization of the total (weighted) service time for all ships, defined as the time elapsed between the arrival in the harbor and the completion of handling. Two versions of the BAP are considered: the discrete case and the continuous case. The discrete c...

Container terminals are facilities where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. They are open systems that carry out a large number of different combinatorial problems that can be solved by means of Artificial Intelligence techniques. In this work, we focus our attention on scheduling a number of incoming vessels by assigning to each a...

In this paper we study the simultaneous optimization of berth allocation and quay crane assignment in seaport container terminals. We propose a model based on an exponential number of variables that is solved via column generation. An exact branch-and-price algorithm is implemented to produce optimal integer solutions to the problem. In particular, we present several accelerating techniques for...

A bi-objective mathematical model is developed to simultaneously consider the quay crane and yard truck scheduling problems at container terminals. Main real-world assumptions, such as quay cranes with non-crossing constraints, quay cranes’ safety margins and precedence constraints are considered in this model. This integrated approach leads to better efficiency and productivity at container te...