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. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.