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A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Ocean Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 July 2023) | Viewed by 29532

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Prof. Dr. Hsuan-Shih Lee

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Guest Editor

Department of Shipping and Transportation Management, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202301, Taiwan
Interests: shipping management; shipping performance evaluation; computer theory; artificial intelligence; big data; fuzzy theory; data-driven analytics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Po-Hsing Tseng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Shipping and Transportation Management, National Taiwan Ocean University, No. 2, Beining Rd., Zhongzheng Dist., Keelung 202301, Taiwan
Interests: shipping management; port management; logistics management; transport management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Marine transportation accounts for 90% of the logistics around the globe, and marine ports serve as the hubs of the marine shipping services. Port logistics refers to the central port city using its own advantages, relying on the advanced software and hardware environment, strengthening its radiation ability to the logistics activities around the port, and developing a comprehensive port service system with the characteristics of covering all links of the logistics industry chain. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ports suffered from complicated and serious problems in logistics such as clogged ports, empty truck cabs, and shortage of containers, among others. Owing to the port congestion and crew exchange, the cost of shipping and ocean freight soared. Amid waves of COVID-19, port logistics strives for recovery in the new norms of COVID-19. As the front end of the port logistics industry, the rise and fall of port international shipping business is also closely related to the rapid development of the port logistics industry. Therefore, this Special Issue aims to collect the latest scientific research based on the development of port logistics industry, hoping to provide technical support or operation management level reference for relevant port managers.

High-quality papers and novel techniques for the study are encouraged. For publication, research topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Port logistics technology;
Intelligent port logistics;
IOT;
Port logistics management;
Port supply chain management;
Performance evaluation on port;
DEA applications on port logistics.

Prof. Dr. Hsuan-Shih Lee
Dr. Po-Hsing Tseng
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

port logistics technology
intelligent port logistics
IOT
port logistics management
port supply chain management
performance evaluation on port
DEA applications on port logistics

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Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 4026 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhanced Ant Colony Algorithm for Discrete Dynamic Berth Allocation in a Case Container Terminal

by Meng Yu, Yaqiong Lv, Yuhang Wang and Xiaojing Ji

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2023, 11(10), 1931; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11101931 - 7 Oct 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1615

Abstract

Berth allocation is a critical concern in container terminal port logistics, involving the precise determination of where and when arriving vessels should dock along a quay. With berth space limitations and a continuous surge in container handling demands, ensuring an effective berth allocation is paramount for the smooth and efficient operation of container ports. However, due to the randomness of vessel arrival times and uncertainties surrounding container ship loading capacities, berth allocation problems (BAP) often present discrete and dynamic challenges. This paper addresses these challenges by considering real-world terminal operational factors, formulating relevant assumptions, and establishing a model for dynamic berth allocation and efficient ship berthing scheduling. The primary motivation stems from the parallels observed between the BAP problem and ant foraging path selection, leading to the proposal of a novel Parallel Search Structure Enhanced Ant Colony Algorithm (PACO). A proper set of parameters of the algorithm are selected based upon sensitivity analyses on the convergence and parallelism efficiency of the algorithm. To validate our method, a real-world case-container terminal operation in Shanghai Port was studied. The experimental comparison results show that the PACO algorithm outperforms other commonly used algorithms, making it more effective and efficient for the Discrete Dynamic Berth Allocation Problem (DDBAP). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Scientific Developments in Port Logistics)

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16 pages, 3550 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Safety Assessment Model for Handling Dangerous Goods in Port Operations: The Key Role of Detection Capability

by Po-Hsing Tseng and Nick Pilcher

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2023, 11(9), 1704; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11091704 - 29 Aug 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3109

Abstract

Recently, resilience studies have been emphasized in the port field, recognizing that many high-risk and unsafe factors in ports might bring serious disasters and economic losses. One major cause of significant losses is accidents from fires, explosions, and the resultant adverse impacts from dangerous goods. Whilst the occurrence of major events related to dangerous goods is relatively low in occurrence, their impact on the environment and economic and social loss, and on human casualties, can be extremely high when they do occur. In order to prevent potential risks and reduce losses, based on a literature review, a safety assessment model was developed with four criteria and 15 sub-criteria of dangerous goods in ports using a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) approach. This model formed the basis for a subsequent stage involving questionnaires with 25 experts. The results of these questionnaires found that the key criteria are detection capability, followed by recovery capability, rescue capability, and resistance capability. Sensitivity analysis is used to identify the criteria’s weight value changes under various scenarios. These findings concern dangerous goods operations management in ports. Critically, these findings emphasize the key role played in the initial stages of determining precisely and exactly what specific goods are in fact dangerous goods, thereby avoiding a domino effect of adverse consequences later. Suggestions are made for policymakers regarding funding and supporting processes for handling dangerous goods, as well as for future research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Scientific Developments in Port Logistics)

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20 pages, 3237 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Autonomous Vehicle-Loading System Simulation and Cost Model Analysis of Roll-On, Roll-Off Port Operations

by Sanghyung Park, Sohyun Yun and Sihyun Kim

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2023, 11(8), 1507; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11081507 - 29 Jul 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1853

Abstract

The gradual commercialization of entirely autonomous vehicles is expected to bring numerous benefits, such as structural transformation in the industry. Specifically, in maritime transportation, automobile terminals that import and export finished autos are seen to transform their current loading system into a CAV (connected automated vehicle)-loading system to accommodate autonomous vehicles. In this study, the impact of introducing a CAV-loading system to a roll-on, roll-off (RORO) ports was investigated. Simulation models were developed to test the performance of the terminal with the CAV-loading system. Then, a cost model was developed to determine the economic benefits of the CAV-loading system. The results in this study revealed that operating costs were reduced by 90%, while terminal operations were significantly improved. In addition, the study revealed that using the CAV-loading system resulted in a 12% reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to that using the current loading system. The originality of this study lies in its transformative potential for an industry that heavily relies on human labor and has limited mechanization and automation. This study provides significant implications for incorporating autonomous vehicles in planned automobile terminal operations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Scientific Developments in Port Logistics)

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25 pages, 857 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study of the Master Bay Plan Problem Based on a Twin 40-Foot Quay Crane Operation

by Yongsheng Yang, Haizhou Yu and Xiaolin Zhu

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2023, 11(4), 807; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11040807 - 10 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2047

Abstract

During the process of container ship transportation, the berthing time cost of the ship in port is extremely important. Container allocation and quay crane (QC) operation greatly affect the berthing time. Currently, few scholars have combined import/export container allocation and QC operation, making it urgent to study ship stowage and QC collaboratively. In this paper, a mixed-integer programming model is established for the ship multi-port master bay plan problem (MP-MBPP), based on the operation of twin 40-foot QCs. The aim of this model is to minimize container rehandling and the time required for twin 40-foot QCs operation movement. A variety of new stowing strategies have been designed, and the improved coded particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO) is used to optimize the position of double-bays, reducing the number and distance of QC movements and minimizing ship berthing time. By comparing the impact of different stowage rules on ship berthing time through examples, verification shows that the proposed stowage model and solving algorithm can obtain optimized solutions. Under the same initial conditions, the double-bay stowage based on the twin 40-foot QCs can improve operation efficiency by at least 20.3%, compared to the single-bay with ordinary QC, verifying the effectiveness of the proposed method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Scientific Developments in Port Logistics)

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23 pages, 4774 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on the Cooperative Scheduling of ARMGs and AGVs in a Sea–Rail Automated Container Terminal under the Rail-in-Port Model

by Yongsheng Yang, Sha He and Shu Sun

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2023, 11(3), 557; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11030557 - 6 Mar 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2667

Abstract

Reasonable scheduling of a train’s loading and unloading equipment can reduce the energy consumption of production operations; this has great value for the green development of terminals. The collaborative scheduling model of the Automated Rail Mounted Gantry (ARMG) and Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) is used to minimize the energy consumption of equipment in a scenario of a vertical railway entering a port and a shared storage yard existing between the port and railway under the mixed operation mode of “train–ship” and “train–yard–ship”. According to the characteristics of the model, the two-layer scheduling rule and the self-adaptive chaos genetic algorithm (SCGA) were proposed to solve the problem of placing the ARMG and the AGV on the same schedule. Simulation experiments verified the effectiveness of the model and algorithm. The effects of the delayed arrival of vessels, the proportion of “transshipment” containers, and the number of automated ARMGs and AGVs on total energy consumption were analyzed. The results showed that when all containers are “train–ship” containers, the number of ARMG and AGV at 1:4 will minimize the total operational energy consumption. Furthermore, as ships take longer to arrive, reducing the number of AGVs can cut energy use by 15% for the same number of ARMG. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Scientific Developments in Port Logistics)

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27 pages, 2998 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Multi-Equipment Cluster Scheduling of U-Shaped Automated Terminal Yard and Railway Yard

by Junjun Li, Lixing Yan and Bowei Xu

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2023, 11(2), 417; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11020417 - 15 Feb 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2265

Abstract

A new layout of the U-shaped automated terminal is more convenient to connect between the terminal and the railway. In this study, a sort of cluster scheduling method for multiple equipment between a U-shaped automated terminal yard and a railway yard is proposed. The innovation points are as follows: (1) Considering that the rail gantry crane (RGC), intelligent guided vehicle (IGV), and double cantilever rail crane (DCRC) usually work in groups, they are grouped and cluster-scheduled. (2) A hybrid integer programming model is established to minimize container transit times, and non-crossing constraints and safe distance constraints are included to reflect complex interactions among terminal equipment. (3) An ADMM (Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers)-based framework is proposed to dualize the hard-edge constraints and break the cluster scheduling problem down into a specific subproblem set of RGCs, IGVs, and DCRCs, and their time cost is iteratively adjusted to improve the solution quality. The experiment results show that the solution of the proposed method, which can effectively avoid IGV conflict, is better than that of the standard Lagrange relaxation (LR) when the number of equipments participating in scheduling increases. This study on multi-equipment cluster scheduling is conducive to improving the collaborative handling and continuous work of terminal equipment, and improving the efficiency of the automated terminal and the sea–rail intermodal transport. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Scientific Developments in Port Logistics)

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14 pages, 1225 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Network DEA Approach for Performance Evaluation of Safety Supervision and Rescue Capability in the Port Waters of Changjiang MSA

by Guo-Ya Gan, Qin Wang and Qian-Feng Wang

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(12), 2002; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10122002 - 15 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1645

Abstract

In recent years, the global economic situation and the development of the international shipping industry have been deeply affected by COVID-19. Since 2021, China has gradually recovered its international shipping supply chain industry with the help of government policy support, and its GDP has grown by 8.1% year by year. Under this favorable macroeconomic background, the Yangtze River waterway transportation, with its good waterway conditions, has led to the continuous increase in transportation demands. However, while pursuing rapid economic growth, ensuring the navigation safety and rescue of ships in the waterway has been one of the key issues of concern for maritime divisions along the Yangtze River. Therefore, combined with the network date envelopment data (DEA) model, this study intends to construct a new set of performance evaluation models in line with their safety supervision and rescue capability based on the daily work characteristics of the Changjiang Maritime Safety Administration (MSA). The occurrence of disasters in their port areas has been taken into consideration as the key undesirable variable. This study hopes to screen out worthy pacesetter representatives, and further suggests more targeted improvement options for inefficient maritime authorities to facilitate more effective safety supervision in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Scientific Developments in Port Logistics)

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22 pages, 3820 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on the Beibu Gulf Port Container Terminal Operation System Construction Performance Evaluation Based on the AISM-ANP

by Guoxu Liu, Daofang Chang and Furong Wen

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(11), 1574; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10111574 - 25 Oct 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2178

Abstract

With the continuous development of smart ports, the construction of port information systems has become the construction focus of the future development of such ports. However, the existing performance evaluation system for port information systems represents a research gap. It cannot effectively achieve specific improvement in the construction of information systems for port services and capabilities. In this paper, an evaluation index system was forged from the three perspectives of the operating level, management capability, and economic efficiency. As a first step, starting from the current situation of Beibu Gulf Port (Port B) construction, the three dimensions of the evaluation index system were determined using the scheme of literature review, questionnaire research, and fieldwork. Additionally, through adversarial interpretive structural modeling (AISM), it is concluded that the port loading and unloading operation capability and service level are the fundamental factors for measuring the construction performance of the container terminal operation system (CTOS). The results are used as input to construct an analytic network process (ANP) model to obtain the index weights. Finally, the gray clustering method (GCM) is introduced to construct a quantitative evaluation model to quantitatively evaluate the construction performance of the Port B CTOS. The quantitative benefits brought by the construction of the CTOS are finally verified. The scores of the corresponding dimensions of the port before and after the construction of the CTOS system in Beibu Gulf Port are obtained experimentally. The conclusion shows that the construction of CTOS makes the port operating level module improve the most, from 40.023 to 70.733 points; at the same time, it is found that two aspects, i.e., green security and economic benefits, in current construction are directions requiring further work in future port construction. Finally, a visualized quantitative analysis and evaluation method for the performance of smart port construction is proposed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Scientific Developments in Port Logistics)

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18 pages, 920 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Application of Fuzzy Delphi-AHP-TOPSIS for Selecting an International Crew Change Center in Taiwan

by Tien-Chun Ho and Hsuan-Shih Lee

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(10), 1538; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10101538 - 19 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2330

Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis has brought disruption to the global economy and to international passenger and cargo transportation, and the unprecedented crew change crisis remains an issue for governments around the world to address. The selection of a port for international crew changes is a major decision for a country, and this port selection can be considered as a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) issue. As with other facility-siting issues, the issue of selecting a port for international crew changes requires consideration of several criteria relative to cargo transshipment, and since this process involves uncertainty, fuzzy logic must be incorporated into the process to obtain more accurate results. This study proceeds from the standpoint of shipping companies and ship management companies, conducting a survey questionnaire on carriers calling at Taiwan ports using cargo structure, transit costs, transit time, environmental factors, geographic location, infrastructure, and crew safety certification facilities. Fuzzy Delphi and FAHP are used to obtain the subjective opinions of carriers and FTOPSIS is used to explore and prioritize the objective opinions of carriers on international crew change ports. This is then used to construct an evaluation model of the key factors influencing the selection of an international crew change location for the development of Taiwanese ports. The results of the study showed that the hinterland industry economy was the main key factor and Kaohsiung container terminal 5 was the most suitable place for crew replacement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Scientific Developments in Port Logistics)

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13 pages, 1628 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamic Changes in Port Logistics Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Bojan Beškovnik, Marina Zanne and Marko Golnar

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(10), 1473; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10101473 - 11 Oct 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4197

Abstract

This study addresses the highly topical issue of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on port logistics. The impacts are reflected in all three pillars of sustainable operations and development that port logistics should pursue. The economic impact is strong and is reflected in the extremely high transport prices, the accessibility of transport, the lengthening of the supply chain, and the reduced liquidity of companies. The social aspect is very important regarding working conditions and workers’ roles in ports and logistics service providers (LSPs). The dynamic changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic also have an impact on the environmental aspect. As supply chains are vulnerable, more attention is paid to the components of time, price, and reliability than greener transportation. This study highlights changes in port logistics due to the COVID-19 pandemic in logistics companies in the northern Adriatic region and covers a specific gap in the understanding of the sustainable adaptations of LSPs in their operations within port logistics. The results enrich the scientific field regarding LSPs to work processes, the digitalization of business processes, and the organization of logistics chains. The results can be used to develop new sustainable business models for port logistics and port governance, as some researchers have already called for because port logistics too often pursue the economic goals of the fastest and cheapest logistics process. At the same time, social and environmental aspects are somewhat neglected. The changes are particularly pronounced in critical situations, such as those typical of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted as part of the project about green port development with external research funding. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Scientific Developments in Port Logistics)

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10 pages, 734 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Stochastic Model for Shipping Container Terminal Storage Management

by Yang Xu, Ming Wang, Kin Keung Lai and Bhagwat Ram

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(10), 1429; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10101429 - 4 Oct 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2207

Abstract

A good port terminal is not only a major economic multiplier for the nation’s prosperity by being a gateway for trading, but is also an attractor for other commercial infrastructure development such as banks, logistics agencies, and manufacturing and trading investments. A measurement of the efficiency of a terminal is the duration-of-stay of visiting vessels. A quick and efficient loading/unloading process can increase productivity and thus reduce the waiting time for a vessel. In this study, we address the space allocation for stacking export containers. If the storage layout and the loading plan work well together, the productivity of the terminal can be increased and the duration-of-stay needed for each visiting vessel is reduced. In this paper, we propose a hybrid storage policy combining class-dedicated and sharing strategies, and construct a stochastic programming model using the concept of recourse. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Scientific Developments in Port Logistics)

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21 pages, 2499 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Interval-Valued Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision-Making with Dependent Evaluation Criteria for Evaluating Service Performance of International Container Ports

by Yu-Jie Wang, Li-Jen Liu and Tzeu-Chen Han

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(7), 991; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10070991 - 20 Jul 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1742

Abstract

Due to COVID-19 barriers, the needs of international container ports have become more important than in the past. Therefore, it is very critical and essential for the scientific developments of port-logistics. To gain the scientific developments of port logistics, effective and efficient evaluation methods for decision-making are indispensable, especially for assessing service performance of international container ports based on dependent evaluation criteria (DEC). Among numerous decision-making methods, technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) was often expanded under fuzzy environments into fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (FMCDM) to preserve imprecise messages. The FMCDM was able to be associated with quality function deployment (QFD) into a hybrid method to solve problems with DEC. To gain more messages, QFD and TOPSIS are combined and then expanded under interval-valued fuzzy environment (IVFE) to solve a FMCDM problem with DEC. Practically, evaluating service performance of international container ports in Taiwan and the surrounding sea areas is considered a problem with DEC because the related evaluation criteria are partially connected. By the hybrid method of combining QFD with TOPSIS under IVFE, international container ports with DEC are effectively and efficiently evaluated for service performance, and more insights are gained than the past for establishing essential fundamentals in recent scientific developments of port logistics on account of breaking down COVID-19 barriers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Scientific Developments in Port Logistics)

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