Queue Modeling Simulation for Vessel Traffic in Nigeria Sea Ports

T.C. Nwachukwu¹ , C.U. Akpudo² , C.A. Enyinda³ , M.S. Stephens⁴

Section:Research Paper, Product Type: Journal-Paper
Vol.10 , Issue.2 , pp.27-32, Apr-2023

Online published on Apr 30, 2023

Copyright © T.C. Nwachukwu, C.U. Akpudo, C.A. Enyinda, M.S. Stephens . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
 

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Abstract :
Seaport operation, especially at the container terminal, has been a major concern to port users all over the world. Long waiting times to be served at the quay apron are always the main problem faced by seaports, especially Nigerian ports. This situation has been a common complaint by the port users. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to investigate the waiting arrival time of a ship, ship service time, and turnaround time of ships calling at the Apapa Port Complex (APC) and Tincan Island Port (TCIP) by using simulation techniques. To do this, the study employed only primary data collection. Ship traffic for vessels calling at the ports during the study period was recorded from the ship traffic data report, the quay record book, and the ship’s record folder. At the end of the assessment period, a total of six-two (62) vessels were observed in TinCan Island Port (TCIP), while eight-four (84) vessels were recorded in the Apapa Port Complex (APC). The collection of waiting times for this study is based on the arrival rate and service rate of vessels at the port. The data was calculated and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and queuing theory, respectively. Based on the analyzed data, the queuing system of the ports` current situation was modelled and simulated using the ARENA software. The result obtained from the simulation model shows that the waiting arrival time of the ship calling at APC and TCIP is on average 6 hours, 46 minutes, and 8 hours, 28 minutes, respectively. The study further revealed that ship service time at berth is on average 1.02 and 1.41 vessels. On the turnaround time, the study established that the ship turnaround times are 1.49 and 2 days, respectively. The study recommends that port equipment and infrastructure be adjusted in line with current traffic flows, which invariably increases port performance and reduces the amount of time vessels spend at port.

Key-Words / Index Term :
Seaport, Queue model, Waiting time, Service time, Turnaround time, Traffic intensity

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