A computer simulation model to determine the productivity of an investment on a container terminal

Because of the dynamic nature of the maritime transportation environment, a large number of timely decisions have to be continuously reviewed in accordance with the changing conditions of the container terminal system. The development of a terminal to its optimum capacity with minimum infrastructure investment basically depends on the efficient loading and unloading of ships, trains and trucks using the terminal equipment's and the rapid movement of containers in and out of the terminal area. In this thesis, it has been presented an approach that combines the advantages of simulation models and Data Envelopment Analysis optimization method in order to reach an optimum investment decision for the enhancement of a container terminal. For this purpose it was decided to approach the problem by a discrete event simulation model, in order to reproduce the activities carried out inside a container terminal, to estimate the monthly container throughput and average ship turnaround time for different investment scenarios. To be able to evaluate the optimum investment decision for the target container terminal, total of 16 simulation scenario were employed. For each scenario, different sets of terminal equipment were assigned to simulation model as input. These parameters are length of quay, number of quay cranes, yard trucks and yard cranes. The objective is, on the one side, to minimize average ship turnaround time and on the other side, to maximize container throughput generated by the terminal. As a follow on step, Data Envelopment Analyses method is utilized as a tool to evaluate the relative efficiencies of these outputs gathered from container simulation scenarios. At the end, cost efficiency analysis is conducted to be able to decide best investment package for the enlargement of the target container terminal with minimum cost.