Abstract

The model used in this report focuses on the analysis of ship waiting statistics and stock fluctuations under different arrival processes. However, the basic outline is the same: central to both models are a jetty and accompanying tankfarm facilities belonging to a new chemical plant in the Port of Rotterdam. Both the supply of raw materials and the export of finished products occur through ships loading and unloading at the jetty. Since disruptions in the plants production process are very expensive, buffer stock is needed to allow for variations in ship arrivals and overseas exports through large ships. Ports provide jetty facilities for ships to load and unload their cargo. Since ship delays are costly, terminal operators attempt to minimize their number and duration. Here, simulation has proved to be a very suitable tool. However, in port simulation models, the impact of the arrival process of ships on the model outcomes tends to be underestimated. This article considers three arrival processes: stock-controlled, equidistant per ship type, and Poisson. We assess how their deployment in a port simulation model, based on data from a real case study, affects the efficiency of the loading and unloading process. Poisson, which is the chosen arrival process in many client-oriented simulations, actually performs worst in terms of both ship delays and required storage capacity. Stock-controlled arrivals perform best with regard to ship delays and required storage capacity. In the case study two types of arrival processes were considered. The first type are the so-called stock-controlled arrivals, i.e., ship arrivals are scheduled in such a way, that a base stock level is maintained in the tanks. Given a base stock level of a raw material or ...

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