BERTH ALLOCATION OPTIMIZATION WITH ENDOGENOUS PRIORITY BASED ON EQUIVALENT CARGO

This study addresses the Berth Allocation Problem (BAP) by incorporating an endogenous prioritization mechanism based on the cargo handled. A prioritization index is defined using each vessel’s equivalent cargo, normalized by the average cargo of its operational class, allowing the relative importance of vessel calls to be captured while mitigating distortions across cargo categories. The problem is formulated as a mixed-integer programming model that minimizes waiting time, delay penalties, and berth preference costs, using real operational data from a Brazilian port. Results show that, without prioritization, the model can reduce total waiting time by up to 44% compared to the observed scenario. However, the introduction of prioritization and delay penalties may significantly increase total waiting time, reaching up to 87,000 hours in extreme scenarios. Although solutions were obtained within a fixed computational time limit, they were sufficient to capture the system’s structural behavior and support decision-making.