International Conference Logistics and Maritime Systems 

Abstract: The connection of a container terminal to its hinterland is a key area for competition. Therefore, more and more attention is paid to the service quality of inland transport modes such as trucks, trains and barges. An efficient allocation of internal material handling resources and the use of new strategies, such as truck appointment systems, can reduce the time vehicles spend at the terminal. We propose a mixed integer linear programming model, based on a network flow representation of the terminal, to determine the number of appointments to accept per time slot and an allocation of internal resources minimizing service times of trains and barges simultaneously. By comparing container terminals with and without appointment systems, we show that a truck appointment system is beneficial for trucks as well as for trains and barges.

Abstract: This study proposes a methodology to optimize truck arrival patterns to reduce emissions from idling truck engines at marine container terminals. A bi-objective model is developed minimizing both truck waiting times and truck arrival pattern change. The truck waiting time is estimated via a queueing network. Based on the waiting time, truck idling emissions are estimated. The proposed methodology is evaluated with a case study, where truck arrival rates vary over time. We propose a Genetic Algorithm based heuristic to solve the resulting problem. Result shows that, a small shift of truck arrivals can significantly reduce truck emissions, especially at the gate.

Abstract: We present a matheuristic, an integer programming based heuristic, for the Liner Shipping Network Design Problem. The heuristic applies a greedy construction heuristic based on an interpretation of the liner shipping network design problem as a multiple quadratic knapsack problem. The construction heuristic is combined with an improvement heuristic with a neighborhood defined by the solution space of a mixed integer program. The mixed integer program optimizes the removal and insertion of several port calls on a liner shipping service. The objective function is based on evaluation functions for revenue and transshipment of cargo along with in/decrease of vesseland operational cost for the current solution. The evaluation functions may be used by heuristics in general to evaluate changes to a network design without solving a large scale multicommodity flow problem.