Port Call Optimization & JIT
Exposing hidden cost in Tangier port calls
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An improvement framework to drive change
Teqplay - Expose and eliminate waste & risk in ports
Introduction
Do you know how much time vessels spend at the terminal? More specifically, are you aware of the unproductive time they spend waiting and the reason for this wasted time?
Even with all the maritime data available, it is still often difficult to understand the ‘what’ and ‘why’ behind port time without a thorough analysis. It is only by turning data into context will maritime stakeholders be able understand and optimise their port call effectively.
This is where Teqplay’s insights come in. We focused on the waiting times and drifting behaviour of vessels at the Tangier Ports to uncover the cause of inefficiencies.
Inefficiency can be exposed and quantified, and through this analysis, we offer a starting point for terminals to set targets for their optimization goals. The case in Tangier also creates an objective and factual framework to improve maritime collaboration, as well as a more holistic approach toward measuring terminal performance.
A deep dive into the case of Port of Tangier
Context
The port of Tangier is located in the Strait of Gibraltar, the world’s second largest trade gateway. There are 4 container terminals in the port, with a handling capacity of 9 million TEU containers. The four terminals are named TC1, TC2, TC3, and TC4 (aka TMII), which are operated by APM Terminals, Eurogate, and Tangier Alliance.
Example of TC1’s port turnaround information, with benchmarks against other terminals (red line)
Port visits in Tangier are characterised by competitive berth stay durations, accompanied by significant variations in waiting times. While operational processes are generally efficient, the extended waiting times can hamper this efficiency.
When waiting at Tangier, vessel drifting is a common phenomenon. In our analysis, we found that many vessels were often drifting far from the terminal when waiting, sometimes as far as 3-4 hours away, before finally being called back for operations.
By diving deeper into the intricacies of the drifting behaviour at Tangier, we aimed to answer the pressing questions: what causes these delays, and why are they so common? Our findings offer valuable insights into the root causes of wasted time in ports.
Ultimately, our investigation shows that coordination among terminals within the port of Tangier is often at the heart of this issue, demonstrating the significant impact of collaboration in maritime operations. By taking coordination into account when setting performance metrics for terminals, port authorities will be better equipped to solve the broad challenge of port call optimization.
Our approach
In order to determine the amount of lost time due to vessel drifting, we compare the moment the vessel stopped drifting with the pilot onboard time. We do this for every vessel visiting Tangier from 01/08/2023 to 15/08/2023, using Teqplay’s robust and advanced data engine, combining AI, AIS data, and smart algorithms.
After observing vessels with high differences between these two time points, the route and drifting behaviour were inspected visually.
A visual inspection of the route & drifting behaviour of vessels
Terminals TC1 and TMII were the focus of this analysis. Out of this dataset, 53 visits were analysed.
Key findings
When examining visits from larger vessels (nominal TEU over 12000), 2 out of 7 vessels were observed drifting. For these vessels, getting the pilot on board took an additional 3 – 5 hours after the end of drifting.
For smaller vessels (nominal TEU of 8000 – 12000), around 40% of the visits drifted away, with the pilot onboard event taking 3 – 13 hours after drifting.
Extrapolating this over the year 2023 leads to an estimate of 24 days of time spent drifting for TMII visitors in this size range.
Interestingly, drifting was more frequent for vessels arriving from nearby locations.
Comparison of drifting frequency for vessels coming from Tangier, Algeciras, and distant ports
The phenomenon of vessel drifting
The drifting phenomenon happened significantly more frequently for vessels coming from nearby locations, especially those already in Tangier and were moving between terminals.
In some cases, the drifting behaviour is not related to berth availability in Tangier, but due to other reasons like planning, maintenance, or unavailability of pilots.
Most notably, there were quite a number of cases where vessels were pushed away despite available capacity in their next destination within the port due to problems in coordination. This was observed often for vessels visiting multiple terminals within Tangier, which led to the extension of our analysis to the shifting of vessels between Tangier terminals.
From terminal to terminal: The shifting challenge
In order to understand why drifting behaviour happens more often to vessels shifting in Tangier, we took a closer look at some specific and relevant cases. These included 6 visits where the vessel stayed in proximity and sailed smoothly between terminals, and 11 visits where the vessel left the port between two terminal visits and entered the high seas before coming back to port.
Analysis result summary of vessel drifting behaviour when shifting in Tangier
The investigation showed that the 11 occasions in which vessels were pushed out when shifting observed significant time waste between departure from the first terminal and arrival at the second, as high as 72 hours. These 11 vessels were anchoring and drifting away while waiting to be back in port.
Notably, in 4 out of these 11 cases, there was available berth capacity at the second terminal when the vessel left the first terminal. In some cases, other vessels were prioritised instead. There was also a case where the berth continued to remain available.
Moreover, this phenomenon occurred just as often for shifting between two terminals of the same operator (TC1 to TMII) as for shifting between terminals of different operators (TC2 or TC3).
Instead of coordinating as a whole, terminals in Tangier mostly act as one another’s competitors. Since each terminal prioritises their own goals and agenda, this leads to conflicting interests, and ultimately to oversights with vessels being pushed away despite availability of berth.
Insights in collaboration & optimization
It is a challenge for terminals to have a clear view of the magnitude of waste and costs that occur in and around the port. Despite Tangier terminals’ efficiency when it comes to their own operations, most of the wasted time and inefficiencies happen at the waiting stage.
In general, this insight also holds true for many other ports and terminals. Whether it be due to congestion, disruption, or other reasons, the biggest challenge of port call optimization is often in the planning of arrivals and departures more than the optimising of operations themselves.
Insights in collaboration & optimization
The Tangier case highlights the critical role of collaboration in achieving effective port call optimization. The inefficiencies observed, specifically the unproductive drifting times, can largely be attributed to a lack of coordinated efforts between different terminals and stakeholders. In the maritime industry, where various actors such as port authorities, terminal operators, shipping lines, and pilots interact, the alignment of goals and processes is essential.
At Tangier, the competitive rather than cooperative relationship among terminals, whether or not they have the same operator, exemplifies challenges that arise when collaboration is absent. Each terminal prioritises its own objectives, often at the expense of the broader efficiency of the port call process. This leads to scenarios where vessels are pushed away despite available capacity, waiting twice for pilot availability and favourable conditions, resulting in significant time wasted for vessels
To address these challenges, a more integrated approach to maritime operations is necessary. Collaboration should extend beyond the boundaries of individual terminals to include all relevant stakeholders in the port ecosystem.
Extend the scope of your improvement metrics
In order to know why and where customers are incurring costs and losing time, terminals need to extend the scope of how they assess their performance improvement.
Traditional performance metrics often focus on operational efficiency within individual terminals. However, these metrics may not fully capture the broader challenges associated with port call optimisation, particularly those related to coordination and planning.
An overview of terminal performance with clear benchmarks is invaluable in driving improvement
As can be inferred from the analysis of Tangier, while a terminal may efficiently manage its internal processes, the overall port call experience can still suffer if vessels spend excessive time drifting or waiting for pilot services. To address this, performance metrics should be expanded to include measures of coordination effectiveness, such as the time spent in unproductive activities like drifting, and the degree of alignment between different terminals and stakeholders.
In addition, it is crucial to adopt a holistic view of port call performance that considers the entire maritime supply chain, from the load ports to the discharge ports. This means developing metrics that assess the efficiency of cargo movement, the synchronisation of vessel schedules, and the responsiveness of port services to dynamic conditions.
By setting the right performance metrics, ports and terminals can better identify areas of improvement, foster collaboration among stakeholders, and implement targeted strategies for optimization. In the case of Tangier, adopting such an approach could lead to significant reductions in waiting times and more efficient use of port resources, ultimately enhancing the competitiveness of the terminals and their ability to serve the global shipping industry effectively.
About this research
All data are factual and collected automatically, based on DCSA standards.
You can also download this research and other maritime insights at teqplay.com/research
Léon Gommans | CEO/Co Founder of Teqplay
A serial entrepreneur who’s passionate about #innovation, #technology, #collaboration, and of course, #maritime. The mission is: to connect the dots & to get it to work, together with the industry!
- +31 (0)6 55306660
- leon@teqplay.com
- Léon Gommans