A micro-network within the port for vessel anchorage selection decision support

Abstract

Upon arrival at ports, selecting the appropriate anchorage is a critical concern shared by ship captains and port managers. This study aims to exploit the rich geographic and semantic information embedded in historical ship trajectory data to construct a micro-network of port elements and employ network analysis techniques to mine spatial service relationships among port elements, thereby establishing an Anchorage Selection Decision Support (ASDS) model. This process involves extracting vessels’ dwell location information within ports from trajectory data and using this information and its sequence to establish an Anchorages-Berths Micro-Network (ABMN) in port. By applying association rule mining techniques, this research reveals the spatial service relationships within the micro-network between anchorages and berths, and integrates relevant indicators to develop the ASDS model. The aim is to help pilots of approaching vessels in making more rational anchorage choices, thus optimizing the operational efficiency of vessels in ports. The effectiveness of this approach has been validated through experiments conducted in the research region at the Nanjing port of the Yangtze River. This research is significant for exploring the correlation between port anchorages and berths, as well as for selecting appropriate anchorages for vessels arriving at the port.