Integrated Laycan and Berth Allocation and time-invariant Quay Crane Assignment Problem in tidal ports with multiple quays

Efficient management of port resources plays a crucial role in reducing vessel stay times and avoiding the payment of demurrage charges. In this paper, we focus on the integrated Laycan and Berth Allocation and Quay Crane Assignment Problem (LBACAP), which considers three problems in an integrated way: the Laycan Allocation Problem, the dynamic continuous Berth Allocation Problem and the time-invariant Quay Crane Assignment Problem. Since these problems have different decision levels, a change of decision time scale is made inside the planning horizon. To ensure that this integrated problem is as close as possible to reality, we consider non-working periods and tidal ports with multiple quays that have different water depths. The integer programming model proposed for the LBACAP aims to find an efficient schedule for berthing chartered vessels with an efficient quay crane assignment, and to propose laycans (laydays and canceling) to new vessels to charter. In a second part, we focus on the integrated Laycan and Berth Allocation and Specific Quay Crane Assignment Problem (LBACASP), which extends the LBACAP model to include the assignment of a set of specific quay cranes to each vessel, considering the productivity of quay cranes (homogeneous or heterogeneous) and their maximum outreach. Moreover, we use predicates in the formulation of both models, which ensure maximum flexibility in their implementation, thereby improving significantly their computational performance. Finally, the computational study on several classes of generated test instances shows that problems with up to 100 vessels can be solved to optimality.