THE INFLUENCE OF THE BERTH LINE CONFIGURATION ON THE SEAPORT PERFORMANCE
Current seaport and cargo terminal simulation projects allow to estimate the influence that a large number of quantitative factors has on seaports’ PPIs (Port Performance Indicators). However, the influence of many qualitative and structural factors, which are hard or impossible to be evaluated, is not clearly expressed in such research projects. The simulation modelling method is considered to be the most suitable for such research. This paper considers the problem of evaluation of the topologically justified mooring restrictions influence on seaport’s cargo-handling processes and overall effectiveness. A quantitative evaluation of a seaport’s PPIs decrease under conditions of inconvenient berths’ disposition is presented. Two options of berth outline is considered: basin and frontal. These options are chosen in accordance with current governing documentation. Port performance evaluation method, based on standard PPIs, is considered. The method uses a ratio based on berth usage for cargo handling operations and total berth usage to evaluate berth usage efficiency. Model animation is recognized as an important method of logical processes visualization. The results of a series of experiments, showing significant influence of a berth line configuration on seaport performance, are reported. Analysis of the collected data allows for the conclusion that seaport’s cargo handling capacity drops drastically in response to the berth line configuration shift. It is recognized that the berth line configuration choice is due to many factors, which includes constrained site conditions. It is important, however, to consider the berth line configuration influence on the seaport’s PPIs, using the option, allowing to organize the vessel traffic in the most convenient way.