Optimized appointment scheduling for export container deliveries at marine terminals

To relieve pressure from large vessels and intensive arrival of trucks, an increasing number of marine terminals require trucks to make appointments prior to delivering containers. The quotas are supposed not to impede truck deliveries but should be sufficiently used. For terminals where trucks are allowed to make appointments and arrive on the same day, a critical problem is the simultaneous allocation of appointment quotas and yard cranes. A bi-objective integer model is set up to balance the trade-off between terminals and trucks. A three-dimensional quota is used for characterizing the variabilities in delivery operation. It also overcomes the challenges involved, including the inside workload, and the yard closing deadline. A non-dominated genetic algorithm II-based approach is developed to solve the problem. The method is validated through extensive numerical experiments, and the results show the advantages of simultaneously balancing the workload of yard cranes instead of merely smoothing truck arrivals. Parameter analysis then reveals the influence of both larger vessel size and an increase in trade, as well as the utility ratio of quotas.