Study the affecting factors for break bulk vessel turnaround time at Port of Colombo

Abstract

This research is mainly focused on identifying the affecting factors for break bulk Vessel Turnaround Time (VTT) at Port of Colombo and the relative importance of each factor to VTT using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Identified eleven (1. Berths unavailability, 2. Weather conditions while vessel berthing, 3. Administrative and financial issues, 4. Pilotage delays, 5. Weather conditions while cargo handling operation, 6. Inefficiency of ship cranes, 7. Equipment breakdown, 8. Labour issues, 9. Shifts changing, 10. Cargo unavailability, 11. Cargo clearance delays) factors are categorized (as sub-criteria) into three main criteria considering break bulk vessel handling procedure. Berthing delays, cargo handling delays, cargo availability related delays are the main criteria of the AHP model. Calculated weights of main criteria and global weight of sub criteria represent the relative importance of affecting factors for VTT. Among the main criteria, cargo handling delays is the most influential factor while berthing delays is secondary. All sub factors are ranked according to their global weights. Weather conditions while cargo handling operation, shifts changing, berth unavailability and, inefficiency of ship cranes are the critical areas that needed to be considered when reducing VTT of break-bulk operations in port of Colombo.