OPTIMIZATION MODELS FOR YARD TEMPLATE DESIGN PROBLEMS UNDER UNCERTAINTY

Abstract

The thesis investigates the yard space allocation problem tactically in order to strike a balance between yard congestion, container handling reshuffles, and land utilisation in an uncertain environment. To determine the cost-optimal space reservation for periodic-visiting vessels and the workload assignment for containers, mixed integer linear programming models are proposed, and efficient algorithms are designed to solve the problems on a large scale. Separately, two types of uncertainties are investigated: the uncertainty in vessel arrival time and the uncertainty in container volume. The importance of considering uncertainty is discussed, and the impact of uncertainties on the efficiency of yard operations is thoroughly examined in order to provide insights for decision makers.