Multi-period yard template planning in container terminals based on dual-service storage strategy

As the bottleneck in the container port transformed from the seaside to the yard area, the optimizing for yard space allocation has become increasingly essential for increasing production and operational efficiency. However, challenges such as resource limitations and the heterogeneous multi-period of arriving services make it difficult for traditional fixed template-based strategy to meet the dynamic needs of ports. This paper proposes a flexible yard template based on dual-service storage strategy, it allows the assignment of two services to a single sub-block, catering to the storage needs of vessels with different arrival services. Based on the flexible template, a mixed-integer programming model with the objective of optimizing container transportation cost and yard space utilization for yard space allocation is established. To address the NP-hard nature of the problem, a tabu search-based greedy random adaptive search algorithm is designed. A case study and experiments with different scales are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the model and method, and the impact of relevant parameters and scenarios on berth and yard space allocation is also analyzed. The findings demonstrate that the proposed dual-service storage strategy can significantly enhance yard space utilization and reduce operational cost.