Ports represent a key element in the maritime transportation chain. Larger vessels and higher traffic volumes in ports might result in higher risks at the navigational level. Thus, the dire need for a comprehensive and efficient risk assessment method for ports is felt. Many methodologies have been proposed so far, but their application to aggregated vessel traffic risks for the overall assessment of ports is not developed yet. Hence, the development of an approach for the appraisal of the vessel traffic risks is still a challenging issue. This research aims to develop an assessment methodology to appraise the potential risk of accident occurrence in port areas at an aggregated level by creating a ‘Nautical Port Risk Index’ (NPRI). After identifying the main nautical risks in ports, the Analytic Network Process (ANP) is used to derive the risk perception (RP) weights for each criterion from data collected through surveys to expert navigators. The consequences related to each nautical risk are identified in consultation with risk experts. By combining the RP values and the consequence of each criterion for a time period, the NPRI is calculated. The risks in the Port of Rotterdam are presented in a case study, and the method has been validated by checking the results with experts in assessing nautical port risks from the Port of Rotterdam Authority. This method can be used to assess any new port design, the performance of different vessel traffic management measures, changes in the fleet composition, or existent ports using the Automatic Identification System (AIS) data.

Port capacity is an essential parameter for the assessment of port performance. In the literature, there is no unanimous capacity definition, which depends on each research goal. Vessel traffic in ports and the corresponding port performance indicators have been analyzed with different simulation models, but they generally do not include a method for determining a port’s capacity. Guidelines or other studies using empirical data also have not addressed this important topic. The method developed in this paper estimates the port network traffic capacity (PNTC) by using vessel traffic data. The analysis and comparison of several indicators are used to identify meaningful relationships for estimating port capacity with generic applicability to any port design. The relation between the total number of trips in the port and the ratio of waiting time to service time seems to be the most suitable for identifying when the port reaches unstable flow situations, that is, when it reaches capacity. The method has been applied successfully in six scenarios with various berths, layouts, service times, vessel fleet types, and maneuvering times. Application of the method is useful during the port-planning phase, because with a few simulations, an indicative PNTC value for each design can be inferred, and thus, different scenarios can be compared.

Since the continuous growth of maritime transportation due to containerization, ports play an increasingly important role in the freight transportation chain. In ports, high vessel flows and implicit higher densities increase the relevance of the non-terminal related operations. A few simulation models have been developed in the recent decades with different aims and scopes, but none of them has been assessed based on their ability to represent real vessel traffic in ports. In this paper, we identify the main navigational processes and operations related to the port wet infrastructure and review and assess the current port simulation models. The survey of models presented represents an exhaustive overview of the current state of the art of port simulation models. Their assessment focuses mainly on which processes and operations are covered by each model, both wet infrastructure and navigational behaviour, and it also considers where models are complementary and how accurately they are able to represent real navigation. A set of elements is defined and divided in two parts for the assessment: wet infrastructure representation and navigational behaviour. This review shows that the influence of infrastructure design or vessel encounter on vessel navigation behaviour and free path choice have not been implemented in port simulations. Future port simulation models should cover these relevant elements, among others also explained, for a more realistic traffic performance.

The maritime transportation growth leads to more intensively used waterways, especially in ports. Since the capacity of an intersection of waterways becomes more important, this research presents a new method to estimate this capacity. Based on an analogy between roads and waterways, the conflict technique is applied to an intersection of waterways. The vessel flows in each direction and their conflicting movements are input for the capacity calculation. The generic method can be applied to any intersection, considering the conflicts between the different streams in the intersection and the flows inferred from empirical data or from predictions. The applicability of the method is shown with two case studies, based on data from the Port of Rotterdam. After using the proposed method, we compare the real flows with the estimated ones to assess the capacity estimates. This method can improve traffic management strategies, traffic rules in waterway intersections or port designs.