A combinatorial benders’ cuts algorithm for the quayside operation problem at container terminals

The quayside operation problem is one of the key components in the management system for a container terminal. In this paper, the integrated models proposed in the previous studies to address the quayside operation problem are examined and one of the potential frameworks is identified. A new method called combinatorial benders’ cuts algorithm is developed to solve the berth-level model in the framework. The computational experiment conducted in this research shows that the proposed approach is more efficient than the branch and cut algorithm embedded in CPLEX.

► The quayside operation problem proposed by Liu et al. (2006) is further examined.
► The problem is decomposed into two subproblems.
► The problem is solved by combinatorial benders’ cut algorithm.
► The developed method is compared with the branch and cut method in CPLEX.
► The results shows that the method can solve the proposed problem efficiently.