Simulation based evaluation of the capacity of Liuheng LNG Terminal

Abstract

Liuheng LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) terminal is proposed to serve LNG carriers and LNG tank container ships. However, the capacity of this terminal may be limited by the long entrance channel and traffic rules for LNG transportation. Therefore, to evaluate the capacity of Liuheng LNG terminal, we establish an agent-based microscopic simulation model for ship operation (AMic-SMSO) to simulate the whole process of ship operation in and out of a port. We undertake a series of experiment scenarios to identify the bottlenecks and assess the throughput capability by analyzing waiting times, berth occupancies, and explore the effect of modifying the traffic rules on these indicators. The results show that this simulation model is a useful tool in determining whether traffic rules works well actually, especially for LNG terminal berth configuration plan.