Evaluating seaport operation and capacity analysis—preliminary methodology

The marine terminal in general and the container terminal in particular is the physical link between ocean and land modes of transportation. Port capacity is commonly defined as the amount of cargo that can be handled by a port per time period, usually a year. For containers it is the number of processed containers per year, for bulk cargo--tons or pallets per year and for Ro-Ro cargoes--autos per year. As the number of ships and the amount of cargo passing through the port increase, a point is reached at which some elements of the port system are functioning near or beyond their maximum productivity rate. The concept that should direct the terminal capacity analysis is controlled by the terminal activity that determines the lowest capacity rate per unit of time, during one cycle of operation. Four performance measures are introduced in order to establish a recommended methodology that quantifies the port's quality of operation and also functions as a tool for decision makers to justify a required investment. The methodology should become a standard that might turn into a requirement for examining every port's level of service.