Container Terminals Operations

A  modern maritime  container  terminal  must  provide services  within  its  area or  in  the  nearby logistics  centers.  What  is  more,so  as  to  adjust  to  changing  market  conditions  marine  ter-minals have to provide service packages for cargos (retail and distribution, handling, transportation and transshipment),  vessels  (supply,  repair,  towing, mooring  or  industrial  and  other  auxiliary  ser-vices) and a crew (social, health, hotel or information services).  Since ports are forced to widen the range of their services to stay competitive in the global economy, in the  article  the role of maritimecontainer terminals will be described in the provision of logistics services.

Chittagong  port  is  considered  the  heart  of the economy  of  Bangladesh.  The  important  role  of
Chittagong Port for Bangladesh underlines the necessity of investigating how best it should
be developed toward meeting the future challenges. Toward enhancing the existing handling
capacity, the Chittagong Port Authority plans for one of the largest and ambitious projects  –
the Bay Terminal – which will be the future Port of Chittagong.
Ports certainly cannot remain unchanged. They in fact have new role to play. The new trade
and  transport  requirements  are  providing  the  ports  both  opportunities  and  risks.  Their
response to this new situation will determine the success or failure of each port.  There are
many  more  issues  and  challenges  involving  and  evolving  gradually  in  the  global  port
industry  .  Ports  have  to  change  accordingly,  to  adjust  to  the  new  situation  to  achieve  its
expected prospect.
Moreover, in order to determine a prospectus port, it depends on how strategically the port is
confronting its challenges of its way of development.
The level of research embarked in this study was descriptive survey. The descriptive survey
research provided researcher an opportunity to present his perspectives on the subject. The
analysis  of  the  data  collected  for  the  study  employed  quantitative  method  (face  to  face
interview, telephone interview). In order to achieve the objective, the author had to depend
on  secondary  data  mostly.  Secondary  data  were  gathered  from  the  lecture,  presentations,
relevant books, UNCTAD publications, journals, newspapers, magazines and various reports
of  CPA  and  ADB.  Relevant  data  had  been  explored  through  review  of  literature,  email
surveys  and  interacting  with  top  management  of  different  entities  using  unstructured
questionnaires.
This study has tried to find various potential  issues and  challenges  of a BCT from different
aspect  of  its  pre-constructional  phase  to  operational  phase,  such  as:  Challenges  in
(Constructional,  Operational,  Strategical  and  Environmental)  aspect.  It  has  also  found
prospects  of  becoming  a  successful  regional  sea  port  by  proper  deal  with  challenges  in  a
strategic way.
At the end, this study states some recommendations based on expected challenges  has been
given. Those Includes: construction of flood wall, Landlord model introduction, connectivity
development,  update  TOS  system,  skilled manpower,  a  comprehensive environmental and
disaster management plan etc.

Prvi kontejnerji so v Luko Koper prispeli že leta 1971, specializirani terminal pa deluje že od leta 1979. Tedaj so se količine na letni ravni približale 40 tisoč TEU. V osemdesetih letih je sledilo obdobje zmerne in stabilne rasti, saj se je promet letno višal za približno 6%. V letu 1987 je dosegel skoraj 67 tisoč TEU. Izjemne dosežke je zabeležil kontejnerski promet tik pred osamosvojitvijo Slovenije, ko se je v letih 1988, 1989 in 1990 zelo povečal in pokazal svojo perspektivnost.

International seaborne trade rose significantly during the past decades. This created the need to increase capacity of existing marine container terminals to meet the growing demand. The major objective of this paper is to evaluate the floaterm concept using simulation modeling and determine if it can improve terminal productivity. The main difference between floaterm and conventional marine container terminals is that, in the former case, transshipment containers are handled by offshore quay cranes and stored on container barges. Two terminal configurations performance is compared (vessel handling times and equipment utilization) under normal and disruptive conditions. Computational experiments confirm preliminary expectations that the floaterm concept can enhance efficiency of marine container terminal operations under normal and disruptive conditions.

Over the last 50 years, international trade of goods has grown significantly in the USA, and as a result, US ports have become bottlenecks in the freight supply chain and logistics. A particular issue that most US ports are contending with is gate congestion (i.e., queuing of trucks outside the container terminal gate). This research provides planners and engineers of container terminals a set of methodologies to design an optimal gate layout to reduce gate congestion. The use of the methodologies to determine the optimal number of service gates is illustrated considering various truck arrival rates, gate service rates, and waiting time thresholds.

Kontejnerje srečamo na železniških vagonih, na tovornjakih, na ladjah, na gradbiščih in pristanišča so jih popolnoma polna. Tovor je pogosto različnih oblik in dimenzij. Spravilo takšnega tovora v kontejner omogoča, da s tem tovorom ravnamo kot z enim kosom, kar olajša transport. To posledično znižuje stroške in porabljen čas.
Razvoj kontejnerskega transporta je posledica prehoda s konvencionalnega načrta dela na mehanizirane in avtomatizirane pretvorne operacije v posameznih stopnjah transporta. Z uvedbo kontjnerizacije so rešeni številni problemi v transportu blaga »od vrat do vrat«, v celinskem in medcelinskem prometu. Ustvarjen je velik napredek v kombiniranem prometu kopenskega in pomorskega prevoza, ker je učinek pretovarjanja večji, zadrževanje prevoznih sredstev v pristaniščih pa zmanjšano na minimum. Kontejnerski sistem transporta je enovit. Njegovo delovanje je odvisno od številnih dejavnikov, kot so sredstva prevoza, manipulacija, infrastrukturni objekti, skladiščenje… Zaradi tega zahteva kontejnerizacija specialne objekte in sredstva za specifične namene.
Osnovna sredstva in objekti infrastrukture v kontejnerskem transportu so zabojniki, železniška in cestna prevozna sredstva, pretovorni objekti – terminali z vso pretovorno opremo kontejnerske ladje.

Cargo laden containers of all sizes are brought by ship and unloaded at seaport berth by quay cranes and from there moved to the adjacent storage yard by gantry cranes. The container is then picked up by the trucking company or owner’s truck and transported to the warehouse for distribution of cargo to retail outlets. These trucks wait in long lines to pick up containers without knowing where and when to pick them up. This paper analyzes the troubles faced by owners and trucking companies and develops a real-time solution to the container cargo load acquisition problem. A just-in time technique is formulated to enable the truck to be at the dock in time to locate and pick up the container while reducing the waiting times with the use of Ground Positioning System (GPS) and Global Location System (GLS) technologies. By utilizing real time data input, a centrally maintained and operated secure web based database can track and display container movement information worldwide. This paper discusses the data source, the type of required information, and parties responsible for data input to the database. The paper presents a methodology for input and maintenance of the large volume of data while also providing access to the Individual Container Tracking System (ICTS) via the Internet.

Efficient ports are essential for efficient national, regional and international logistics and business more generally. However, efficient port performance depends on a number of factors, including adequate and efficient facilities and technology for cargo handling, accessibility and connectivity (both seaside and landside), port location in relation to trade routes and hinterland, skills and labour, as well as appropriate managerial technologies. While some of these factors may be in the control of port management, others may be beyond their immediate control.
This study focuses on port performance in developing economies, with specific reference to Libya. Libyan ports occupy a strategic location close to the Asia-Europe international trade route, and between Africa and Europe. Therefore, they have the potential to play an important role in regional economies, acting as critical nodes in international logistics and supply chains. However, the persistently poor performance of ports across the country undermines this potential. Poor performance at the ports has, for example, pushed big carriers to bypass Libyan ports for the ports of neighbouring countries. Additionally, many traders in the region transport cargo through ports other than Libya’s.
This study was developed to examine the factors that undermine the performance of Libya’s ports, using the perspective of Libyan port stakeholders. It examines how the various factors interact to create a situation of poor performance. To achieve this, the study was developed in two phases. The first phase used an online questionnaire that included factors related to port performance extracted from the literature. The data obtained from this questionnaire were analysed using descriptive analysis and oneway analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA). The second phase was used confirm the findings of the first phase, using data envelopment analysis (DEA). Secondary data related to 25 ports, including seven Libyan ports, were used for this purpose.
The study finds that the poor performance of Libyan ports is caused by poor port infrastructure, superstructure and land transport infrastructure. However, a deeper analysis shows that the problem is much bigger than just port precinct-related
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limitations. The study has also found that external factors play a major role in this situation, including political, economic and social factors. It suggests that a prevailing environment of bad politics and poor economic governance and management systems are responsible for the performance limitations at the ports. Apart from the internal political turmoil that has characterised Libya over many years, Libya has also been involved in many major conflicts with surrounding countries, a fact that undermines the position of its ports to facilitate trade in the wider regional hinterland. Internal political instability has also created a bureaucracy characterised by corruption, political patronage, ineptitude and general economic mismanagement. Thus, Libya has failed to adopt an effective local framework to drive effective investment and proper management of the ports and ensure efficient performance.
It is envisaged that the findings of this study will be useful in the formulation and implementation of appropriate policy, both within the ports and more broadly, to achieve enhanced operational efficiency. While there are important questions for port and terminal operators regarding internal operations efficiency, there are even bigger ones for government regarding establishing an enabling economic environment for investors and operators in the industry.

Port and supply chains are closely connected to each other as a port is considered as an important node of the global supply chain. Sothe efficiency level of port has an impact on the performance of supply chain operations. Chittagong port is the principal seaport of Bangladesh and it provides a major gateway to the outside world. The cost of doing business is increasing as a result of the inefficiency in the main seaport of the country. In this paper, an effort has been taken to examine the efficiency of Chittagong Port and the causal factors of inefficiency. The impact of inefficiency at Chittagong port on the supply chain of Bangladesh has also been identified. To do this, at first a relationship has been built between port efficiency and supply chain in respect of Bangladesh. Relevant data has been gathered through extensive review of the literature, field surveys, interacting with top management of different business entities such as shipping agency, freight forwarder, logistics companies, exporter, importer as well as Government regulatory and monitoring bodies using both the structured and unstructured questionnaires. The study has revealed that theinefficiency at Chittagong port causes serious consequences on the supply chain of exporter and importer and lead to loss and disruption of trade and ultimately incur extra costs and time. This paper, therefore, recommends a substantial infrastructure improvement to Chittagong port along with other related measures in order to facilitate the supply chain of exporter and importer.

The question of what constitutes media has received little attention in Marxism and where it does, the concept is an empty abstraction. While Marxists have extensively theorized the concentration of mass media ownership, and analyzed mass media content as ideology or propaganda, critical discussions of what a medium is in the capitalist mode of production have been mostly lacking. That is to say, Marxism does not have a media ontology. Media is therefore a critical gap in Marx’s political economy. This dissertation seeks to fill this gap by asking what is a medium in the capitalist mode of production?, answering it with a value-form theory of media and a concept of “capital’s media” that takes the circulation of capital as its starting point. The dissertation goes beyond Marxism’s mass media myopia and moves the concept of media towards logistics and infrastructure.

The contributions this dissertation makes are to (1) develop a theory and category of capital’s media as a phenomenon of the circulation process of capital; (2) stake out an approach to investigate media phenomenon outside of pure political economy and cultural studies approaches; and in the process (3) contribute towards a rehabilitation of Marx’s analysis of circulation. To make these contributions this dissertation relies on a theoretical framework that is primarily based on Marx’s value theory, but enriched with concepts from Canadian-German media theory (Harold A. Innis, Marshall McLuhan, Friedrich Kittler, Wolfgang Ernst, and Hartmut Winkler) and Paul Virilio’s dromology. This dissertation has two components to its methodology: an original “circulationist” reading of Marx’s political economy that is developed from the heterodox Neue Marx-Lektüre (New Marx Reading), and a set of empirical case studies that includes the shipping container and intermodal transportation, distribution centers, and point-of-sale and payment systems. Positing a category of capital’s media, this dissertation concludes that nothing by its very nature is a medium but instead that things function as media when they appear in that category. More specifically, a thing, such as a container ship or distribution center, appears in the category of capital’s media when they function within and for the circulation process.

Port and supply chains are closely connected to each other as a port is considered as an important node of the global supply chain. Sothe efficiency level of port has an impact on the performance of supply chain operations. Chittagong port is the principal seaport of Bangladesh and it provides a major gateway to the outside world. The cost of doing business is increasing as a result of the inefficiency in the main seaport of the country. In this paper, an effort has been taken to examine the efficiency of Chittagong Port and the causal factors of inefficiency. The impact of inefficiency at Chittagong port on the supply chain of Bangladesh has also been identified. To do this, at first a relationship has been built between port efficiency and supply chain in respect of Bangladesh. Relevant data has been gathered through extensive review of the literature, field surveys, interacting with top management of different business entities such as shipping agency, freight forwarder, logistic...

Dating back to the mid-20th century, shipping containers, sometimes called intermodal containers, freight containers or sea cans, are boxes made of steel that are used to safely and securely ship household items and commercial goods overseas. Shipping containers can typically be safely transported across different modes of transport - for example, from truck to cargo ship or rail.  In order to prioritize safety for shipping containers overseas, the 1972 Convention for Safe Containers was established by the United Nations and the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The main objective of the proposed paper is to describe terminal operating system (TOS) that can be used by sea ports to optimize processes of maritime container loading/unloading and transportation. The chosen TOS modules will be presented, analyzed and compared on the basis of such problems as: loading and unloading of vessels, vehicle routing systems, planning the number of container handling equipment (CHE) or organizing storage yards and warehouses at marine container terminals. The study is also intended to demonstrate that TOS may be used to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of marine container terminals as it is a great tool supporting ports’ entrepreneurship and competitiveness.

The problems of the logistic performance of the ports require an increasingly important interest on behalf of the researchers, became a major concern for the countries conscious of the importance the harbor places role in the growth of their economy, in particular, with the image of the current general context marked by the world economic recession, the aggressive competition and the evaluation of complexifications of activity. Morocco did not remain with the gap face at the accelerated rhythm of the maritime transport on a world level. Within this framework, he agreed during the three last decades of the considerable efforts in the development, the adaptation and the modernization of his harbor infrastructures, like at the legislative level by the installation of the institutional reforms.  However, Morocco is confronted with a number of total constraints, which slow down the development of its logistic activities; On the one hand, with export, the costs and times of the passage of the strait are serious handicaps what discourages the Moroccan exporters. In addition, the complexity of the process of importation or taking out of bond weighs down the procedures along the chain. Another aspect to be announced relates to the heaviness of documentary flow what delays the export of the good of the port and generates a lengthening of the deadlines and an increase in the costs. With this is added an institutional vacuum what penalizes the development of effective and efficient supply chains.  In front of this situation, the public authorities were harnessed to improve competitiveness of the harbor sector through several measurement shaving for objective to improve quality and the effectiveness of the offered services. These efforts could quickly cultivated their fruits, Morocco at passed from the 94 position in 2007 to the 55 position December 2013, according by the British specialized magazine “Container Management”. Within this framework this communication aims to analyze and evaluate the current level of the performance of the container terminals of the Tangier Med port, in order to detect the faults which slow down its development in term of optimization of the logistic costs of the containers forwarding by the port, in the objective to propose a plan of recommendations and the adapted tracks of reinforcement.  Thus, the problems of research can be posed through the following key question: The optimization of the logistic costs of the containers forwarding by the Tangier Med port: Which prospects to support the role of its harbor installations in world maritime logistics?

Dating back to the mid-20th century, shipping containers, sometimes called intermodal containers, freight containers or sea cans, are boxes made of steel that are used to safely and securely ship household items and commercial goods overseas. Shipping containers can typically be safely transported across different modes of transport - for example, from truck to cargo ship or rail.  In order to prioritize safety for shipping containers overseas, the 1972 Convention for Safe Containers was established by the United Nations and the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Cargo laden containers of all sizes are brought by ship and unloaded at seaport berth by quay cranes and from there moved to the adjacent storage yard by gantry cranes. The container is then picked up by the trucking company or owner’s truck and transported to the warehouse for distribution of cargo to retail outlets. These trucks wait in long lines to pick up containers without knowing where and when to pick them up. This paper analyzes the troubles faced by owners and trucking companies and develops a real-time solution to the container cargo load acquisition problem. A just-in time technique is formulated to enable the truck to be at the dock in time to locate and pick up the container while reducing the waiting times with the use of Ground Positioning System (GPS) and Global Location System (GLS) technologies. By utilizing real time data input, a centrally maintained and operated secure web based database can track and display container movement information worldwide. This paper discusses the data source, the type of required information, and parties responsible for data input to the database. The paper presents a methodology for input and maintenance of the large volume of data while also providing access to the Individual Container Tracking System (ICTS) via the Internet.

The development of the port facilities must be carried out in concordance with the ships flows size so that the sum of waiting costs for demands arrived for service and also for the service stations is minimal. In actual operating conditions this minimum is difficult to obtain due to varying demands faced by ports. The solutions for the port facilities’development are based on the criterion that aims maximizing the social benefit obtained using the mathematical models of queuing theory. The paper aims to identify models for developing port facilities’ by which a rational dimensioning of installations subjected to time variable demands will be achieved (handling facilities at berth, covered / uncovered storage areas).Considering the multitude of mathematical models of the differentiated queuing theory according to the number of channels, distribution of arrival times and distribution of service
time or the number of places in the waiting string / system, there is a problem of choosing the model to approximate as accurately as possible the future operation of the port system. The model validation is done through a case study which solve a problem of rational development of the necessary port facilities at an operative berth. The proposed model use the minimum economic cost criterion (cost of ships waiting for service and cost of berth inactivity) knowing
that the ratio of these costs in most cases exceeds 4/1.

The development of the port facilities must be carried out in concordance with the ships flows size so that the sum of waiting costs for demands arrived for service and also for the service stations is minimal. In actual operating conditions this minimum is difficult to obtain due to varying demands faced by ports. The solutions for the port facilities’development are based on the criterion that aims maximizing the social benefit obtained using the mathematical models of queuing theory. The paper aims to identify models for developing port facilities’ by which a rational dimensioning of installations subjected to time variable demands will be achieved (handling facilities at berth, covered / uncovered storage areas).Considering the multitude of mathematical models of the differentiated queuing theory according to the number of channels, distribution of arrival times and distribution of service time or the number of places in the waiting string / system, there is a problem of choosin...

The paper elaborates on Ports 4.0, also known as Smart Ports, and the  materialization of this concept in a generalized industrial context of technological disruption.

The role of Supply chain technology companies in ports and broader supply chain management is analyzed, including market valuation comparisons between “classic” logistics corporations vs. Supply Chain Tech players; the rationale for implementing synergetic partnering agreements between both industries is also addressed.

Various practical examples of new business models and digital products in ports are presented, with an emphasis on the optimization of intermodal land transport management and business performance improvements achieved through traceability and predictability of container arrival time based on predictive models and artificial intelligence.