Abstract
The subject of this paper is the process of unloading and loading ships at maritime container terminals. Since decision problems in container terminals are dynamic in nature and must be re-evaluated over time based on the state of some crucial underlying factors (such as ships, cranes, or storage yard characteristics), the problem is formulated as a Markov decision process (MDP). The objective is to provide the optimal sequence of decisions that are to be undertaken at each time during the period of unloading and loading operations in order to minimize the total waiting time of wharf cranes and vehicles allocated to serve a containership. A simulation model is also developed in this paper to test and evaluate the optimal policy provided by the MDP.
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Rida, M. Modeling and Optimization of Decision-Making Process During Loading and Unloading Operations at Container Port. Arab J Sci Eng 39, 8395–8408 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-014-1328-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-014-1328-8