Reducing Vessel Turnaround Time to Improve Port Efficiency A case study at Inter Terminals Gothenburg

Sammanfattning

This thesis investigates how vessel turnaround time can be reduced to improved operationalefficiency at Inter Terminals Gothenburg, a liquid bulk terminal operating within a sharedport infrastructure. The aim was to identify where waste, non-value-added time, andoperational bottlenecks occur in the vessel turnaround process, and to propose improvementsthat can be implemented within the existing infrastructure and operating setup. A single casestudy was conducted using a mixed-method approach structured to the DMAIC framework,combining internal and external interviews, observations, operational documents, andquantitative time data. The findings show that the main structural bottlenecks are connected toquay and pipeline availability, where several actors depend on the same shared infrastructure.The findings also show that vessels may remain at berth during periods when pumping is notactive, but that this time often consists of necessary surrounding activities such asdocumentation, inspection, sampling, customs and tax clearance, and coordination betweenthe involved actors. A recurring issue was that vessels could remain at berth without pumpingtaking place. This was not always caused by the physical transfer itself, but by activitiesaround it, such as late information, unclear documentation, coordination between actors, oruncertainty about when the next step could begin. The thesis therefore proposes that quaymeetings and documents should be prepared digitally before the vessel arrives, so that vesselsoccupy berths for a shorter period. It also proposes that delays and incidents should berecorded in more detail, making it easier to understand why waiting time occurs. Thesemeasures are intended to reduce avoidable waiting and improve the use of existing berthcapacity. The thesis contributes to the understanding of how port terminals can improveoperational efficiency when the main physical infrastructure is shared and difficult to expand.