Modeling the transit of containers through quay buffer storage zone in maritime terminals

The maritime container terminal allows the transfer of container flows from maritime vessels to the land transport network and vice versa. The transit capacity through the terminal is affected by the handling capacity of the equipment at the terminal, by the size of the storage areas and least by the technologies used in handling and storing the containers in the terminal. In this paper, the influence of these last two technologies on the duration of the process of unloading/loading of sea vessels within the terminal is analyzed. A discrete simulation model is used to evaluate the sizing method for short-term storage area located on the dock. The manner of allocating the flows of containers on it, as well as the working technology of the handling equipment, have an influence on the number of containers taken over, respectively loaded on the maritime vessels. The simulation model topology is developed following the existing physical structure of a container terminal from Constanta Port, in Romania. The obtained results can help the administration of the container terminal in optimizing the activity of handling, storing, and transferring the flows of containers from the maritime environment to the mainland and vice versa.