A robust optimization approach to the integrated berth allocation and quay crane assignment problem

•This paper studies the integrated berth allocation and QC assignment problem.•The problem considers the QC setup time of shifting along the quay.•To handle the uncertainties, a robust optimization model is established.•Another robust optimization model is proposed to control the conservativeness.•A GA and an insertion heuristic algorithm are designed to solve the problem.

This paper investigates the integrated berth allocation and quay crane assignment problem in container terminals. A deterministic model is formulated by considering the setup time of quay cranes. However, data uncertainties widely exist, and it may cause the deterministic solution to be infeasible. To handle the uncertainties, a robust optimization model is established. Furthermore, to control the level of conservativeness, another robust optimization model with the price constraints is proposed. A genetic algorithm and an insertion heuristic algorithm are suggested to obtain near optimal solutions. Computational experiments indicate that the presented models and algorithms are effective to solve the problems.