Simulation and analysis of port bottlenecks: the case of Male

Abstract

Maldives is an island nation that consists of around 1190 islands located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Sri Lanka. The country virtually imports everything it consumes. Male’ Commercial Harbour handles all international sea cargo for the country. The land area assigned for the port is small; and there are frequent bottlenecks and congestion in the port. By using computer simulation techniques, this research investigates the situation of Male’ Commercial Harbour and identifies logistic bottlenecks that exist at the port. Accordingly, a field research was conducted at Male’ Commercial Harbour to collect required data. Both, qualitative and quantitative data were collected using focus group, interviews, on-site observations, and time and motion measures. The simulation models presented in this thesis were carried out with Arena software (Academic Version of Arena 10.0). The models were used to analyse the vessel turnaround time, berth capacity, yard capacity, container dwell time, queue values, utilisation of ship cranes and other container handling equipment. The results show that berth capacity seems to be the major bottleneck that creates longer queues and ship delays at Male’ Commercial Harbour. Several scenarios were tested to identify the best scenario regarding ship waiting time at berth. Based on the best scenario, a project was proposed focusing on the development of an extended alongside berth at Male’ Commercial Harbour. A cost benefit analysis was performed to see whether the project is financially feasible.