AN ANALYSIS ON CARGO HANDLING PERFORMANCE AND

ITS EFFECT ON TURNAROUND TIME OF LINER SHIPS (A

CASE OF TEMA PORT)

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Background of study

Tema Port provides container handling facilities via a dedicated container terminal managed and

operated by a private company, Meridian Port Services (MPS). The MPS terminal consists of

berths 1 and 2 has a quay length of 575 metres with the following facilities: 3 Ship to shore gantries,

4 yard gantries, 2 Mobile Cranes, Reach Stackers, 272 reefer plug points and a six lane gate

complex. In June 2015 the Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority and the Meridian Port services

signed a contract, worth $1.5 billion to substantially expand Tema port as a key component of

GPHA’s master plan for development of port infrastructure, this is aimed at increasing container

traffic and accommodating some of the world’s biggest container ships. Subsequently, the GPHA

implemented the paperless policy (1st September 2017), which is aimed at increasing port’s

efficiency whilst reducing lead-time in clearance of cargo. The question left to pounder is how

the port expansion project and paperless policy implemented will improve cargo handling

performance.

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Figure 1.1

Source: Sankofa online

According to Valentine & Gray (2002), understanding port performance is an essential concept to

any port management, be it the measurement of port productivity against utilization and output, or

against port competition. Chung (2005) opined that, “the operational performance of a port is

generally measured in terms of speed with which a vessel is despatched, the rate at which cargo is

handled and the duration that cargo stays in port prior to shipment or post discharge” invariably,

this statement suggests that cargo-handling performance is measured by two indicators, vessel

turn-around time and cargo dwell-time, which is to a large extent determined by the time frame

taken to handle cargo at the port. As indicated by UNCTAD (1999), “operational performance can

be measured using indicators, this indicators are either macro or micro performance indicators.

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Macro performance indicators refers to the port’s impact on economic activities whilst micro refer

to the evaluation of input/output ratio measurement of port/cargo-handling operations. “As far as

cargo-handling performance is concerned, there are four commonly used groups of performance

indicators: Output, Service, Utilization and productive indicators. According to Sarwar (2013),

“Time-related indicators aim at measuring conceptually very simple parameters, such as the

amount of cargo moved at a berth in a defined period of time, the speed with which ships are served

and the speed with which cargo is transferred to other transport modes”. That simply means, for a

port to achieve a basic efficiency status, the port will have to take into account time related cargo-

handling operations at the berth. According to Studer (1969), from the time a liner vessel arrives

at the approach channel to the time she sets sail (after loading and discharging has been carried

out), there are numerous task to be accomplished (berth allocation, gang deployment, equipment

allocation, loading and discharging operations etc.), any of this task may cause to a large extent

low or high turn-around time. “Turn-around time of a vessel falls into three stages”; “firstly the

arrival at and departure of the vessel from within the port”, “secondly the time required to service

the vessel for voyage and to make it ready to take on cargo”, thirdly the actually time used to load

and discharge cargo at the berth as illustrated in figure 1.2.

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Figure 1.2

Source: UNCTAD Manual

Brooks and Pallis, (2013), intimated that, for a productive supply chain and maritime transport

system to be achieved, ports must attain an efficiency status through an efficient cargo-handling

operation at the berth, this phenomenon makes berth performance a key issue for any port

management system. The importance of analysing berth performance at the port has increased as

a result of the intense competition between neighbouring ports, increase in containerization, supply

chains and the development of new production distribution-consumption systems as well as

fluctuation in the shipping market. For that reason, this research aims at analysing berth’s

performance at the port, and the effect of berth performance on vessel turnaround time at Tema

port.

According to Stopford (2009), a port is a geographic location where ships call to load and discharge

cargo, thereby Ports can be said to be interfaces between land and sea, making port an important

part of the transport chain. The role of ports in regards to world trade is vital, such that over 90

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percent of goods are transported via sea, thereby being handled at the port. Making seaport an

essential node in global logistics. Esmer (2008), suggests that there have been an upward growth

rate in world trade since the mid-1980s, which have over the years surpassed world output. This

increase in trade can be attributed to increase in integration of regional and national economies

around the global. Due to this development, monitoring cargo-handling performance have been

increasable difficult. According to Esmer (2008), “ports are complex and dynamic systems

consisting of numerous interacting elements, influenced by random factors” “hence the full

utilization of available resources and efficient management of cargo-handling operations are two

major goals of ports”. Under these two goals many objectives will be achieved such as: increasing

the port’s throughput and utilization of resources (berths, cranes, quay, yards, etc.), “reducing

handling time, minimizing port congestion, minimizing disruptions, demurrage and cargo-

handling cost”.

1.1 Problem Statement

Port of Tema “is currently more than saturated with berths capable due to enough draught. A

serious problem is caused because an increasing number of larger vessels are only able to mourn

at the two MPS-berths that have enough draught and suitable quayside equipment”. “Subsequently,

both berths are constantly used. Larger vessels occupying MPS-berths result in high waiting time

(resulting in anchorage costs) for other vessels accessing the port”. “A reason queuing at the MPS-

berths is the availability of adequate ship-to-shore cranes (Gantry cranes). The handling capacity

for the other 10 berths at port of Tema is scarce”; a vessel should use a deck crane/ its derricks to

unload goods. “It will take more time to create a vacant berth due to reduced handling movements.

Ships do not prefer other berths due to lower productivity caused by inadequate equipment and

lower skilled cargo handlers, this can lead to longer turn-around time”. “The unavailability of

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suitable berths might bring shipping lines to the conclusion to move neighbouring seaports like

Lomé and Abidjan”.

1.2 Research aim and objectives

1.3.1 Main Objectives

The main aim objective of this research is to analysis the ship-shore berth performance at and its

effect on turnaround time of containerized vessel at Tema port. The question remains, how can

this performance the analysed. According to Esmer (2008), the analysis on cargo-handling

performance main activities in the whole container port operations can be subdivide into the

following:

Berth operation: “The berth operation primarily concerns the pre-arrival schedules of vessels and

the allocation of wharf space and quay crane resources to service the vessels. The port is fully

equipped to handle almost all types of vessels. The key concern of the berthing operation is the

turn-around time of vessels”.

Ship operation: “The ship operation involves the discharging and loading of containers on-board

the vessel. This is handled by quay cranes working in synchronization so as to maintain safe

separation from each other”. “To achieve high crane rates (number of containers moved per hour),

the planner has to optimize the crane working sequence (a detailed list of crane moves), so that

there would not be any clash involving neighbouring cranes and at the same time ensure a smooth

feed rate of prime movers to cart away (discharge) and send (load) containers to the quay cranes”.

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Scheduling: “This is the function that ensures the various resource pools, such as the prime mover,

yard crane and other container handling equipment pools, are utilized efficiently given the

constraints and other conflicting demands on them”.

The above listed activities will be analysed in relations to time (waiting time, service time, and

idle time)

1.2.2 Specific Objectives

With the use of mixed method research approach, this study aims at fulfilling these specific

objectives. .

• Analyse cargo-handling performance for containerized cargo at berth in respect to service

time, ship output, berth output, utilization and productivity

• To determine to what effect cargo-handling operations have on turnaround time of

container vessels and identify bottlenecks.

• To find out customers perception in respect to service quality in cargo-handling procedure

at the container berths.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.3.1 General Research Question

How does cargo-handling operational performance affect vessel turn-around time at Tema port?

1.3.2 Specific Research Questions

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 • What are the performance levels at the berth in relations to time related service, output,

utilisation and productivity

• What are customers perceptions to service and efficiency on operating procedures at the

terminal

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

Primarily, the results of this study will give an insight on the logistics operations performance at

the port, and its effect on turnaround time. Recommendations from the findings would be useful

to the government and the port stakeholders. With the continuous investment in the port

superstructure and infrastructure, this study points out the need for more efficient and effective

management of port logistics operations.

This research is significant on the grounds that a lot of savings can be made in the port environment,

when port superstructure infrastructure are properly utilized. Analysis on operational performance

and its effect container traffic would play a key role in ports revenue and give an insight on areas

of operations that requires investment.

1.5 SCOPE OF STUDY

The research intends to evaluate the cargo-handling performance and its effect on Vessel turn-

around time. It specifically looks at the ship-to-shore operations at the various berths capable of

handling containerized cargo. Port operations is simply that part of port logistics that implements

and controls the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods from sea to shore, to meet customers

requirement. This study will analyze the physical and information flow (scheduling, loading and

offloading, crane moves, etc.) of containers at the berth, in tema port.

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1.6 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION

PORT LOGISTICS OPERATIONS: Port logistics operations is simply that part of port

operations that implements and controls the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods from

ship to shore, to meet customers requirement (researcher’s definition).

Container Traffic: UN/IMCO convention of 1972 (cited Rath 1975), defines container as a means

an article of transport e

Berth: a place in which a vessel is moored or secured, place alongside a quay where a ship loads

or discharges cargo

Turnaround Time: the time between a ship arriving at port and sailing

Container Terminal: an area designated for stowage of cargo in containers, usually accessible by

truck, railroad, and marine transportation, where containers are picked up, dropped off, maintained,

and housed

Container Yard: Materials handling/storage facility used for completely unitized loads in

containers and /or empty containers.

Gateway: a point at which freight moving from one territory to another is interchanged between

transportation lines

Liner Ships: a vessel sailing between specified ports on a fixed route, at a fixed cost and a fixed

time on a regular basis

Stevedore: an individual or firm that employs longshoremen to load and unload vessel

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1.7 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY:

The research will be organized into five chapters

CHAPTER ONE: This introductory chapter includes: the background of the study, statement of

the problem, research questions, and justification of the study, scope of the study, operational

definition and the organization of chapters.

CHAPTER TWO: This literature review will focus on port logistics operations and container

dwell time at Tema Port, it will look at port competiveness and UNCTAD port’s key performance

indicators, and the impact of port on competiveness of national economy.

CHAPTER THREE: This presents the methods which have been used for data Collection and

data analysis. In addition, the validity and credibility of data sources and results are discussed.

CHAPTER FOUR: Presents the outcomes of observations, Interviews and the author’s

interpretations of them.

CHAPTER FIVE: This presents the recommendations and conclusions of the research work.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.1 Conceptual and Theoretical Framework: The previous chapter the researcher gave an

introduction to his research topic, summarizing trends related to his topic as well as reasons for

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conducting research on the stated topic. In this chapter, the researcher will comprehensively

examine literature relevant to the area of research. In other to have total description to the matter

in question, a number of concepts, models and theories relevant to the research will be examined

and deductions made as to their suitability to the study.

2.2 Definitions of Key Concepts

1. Port: Alderton (2008) defines a port as a maritime intermodal interface. It is an area where

there are facilities for berthing or anchoring ships and where there is equipment for the

transfer of goods from ship to shore or vice versa.

2. Containers: Containers are large boxes used to transport goods from one destination to

another. They are designed to facilitate movement of goods without intermediate reloading.

Goods in containers require less packaging, are less likely to be damaged and result in

higher productivity as compared to conventional bulk cargo (Huynh et al Walton, 2005).

3. Transit container: Container destined for a transit state. The transit state is defined as a

country through which container passes en-route to destination country (Huynh et al

Walton 2005). .

4. Dwell time: Manalytics (1979) as cited by Idrisa Alli (2015) defined “dwell time as the

average time a container remains stacked on the terminal and during which it waits for

some activity to occur”. According to this definition, dwell time also refers to the efficiency

of terminal operations. The shorter the dwell time the more efficient the performed

operation and vice versa.

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 5. Port logistics: Port logistics is the part of the supply chain process that plans, implement,

and control the efficient and effective flow storage of goods, services and related

information from point of origin to point of consumption in order to meet customers’

requirements in a port and business environment.

Vessel Turnaround Time: turnaround time is the gross time spent by a vessel in a port, that is the

time difference between the date and hour when a ship leaves the port limits and the date measures

the precise time in hours and minutes which the ship spent in port (Robinson 1974).

2.3 Containerized Transport

According to World bank (2007), containerized shipping came into being sometime around April

1956 when an initial voyage by tanker Ideal X owned by Sealand (“then known as Pan Atlantic

Steamship”) from New York to Houston carrying 58 trailers on deck. “The trailers were detached

from their chassis and lifted aboard the ship with a dockside gantry crane”. “This initial voyage

was rapidly followed by plans to convert six dry cargo ships to full containerships fitted with on-

board cranes (World Bank 2007)”. According to World Bank (2007) the first containerized

shipping began operations on October 1957, with a carrying capacity of 226 35-foot containers,

equivalent to about 480 TEU. By the year 1963, “the company was employing converted tankers

between the U.S. East and West Coasts that were able to carry 476 containers (about 830 TEU)”.

On the other hand, in 1960, Matson commenced its containerized service between the West Coast

and Hawaii, “utilizing cargo ships able to carry 436 24-foot containers on deck (about 520 TEU)

World Bank (2007)”. “There was also an unsuccessful attempt by Grace Line in 1960 to introduce

container service between the United States and Central and South America”. “International

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service using containerized vessels began in 1966 with the introduction of SeaLand’s weekly

container service between the U.S. East Coast and Europe” (World Bank 2007).

“The maritime transport industry, at least for the part that is involved with container transport, has

transformed from a labour intensive to a capital and knowledge intensive industry” (Schmidt

2009).In other words, containerization rocked the maritime world in terms of cargo-handling

operations, by reducing the workforce involved in cargo-handling operations, and also by reducing

the service time required for loading and discharging of cargo. The reduction of cost of maritime

transport is an attribute of the after effect of containerization (Schmidt 2009). Thus,

containerization as a whole is a major enabler of globalization. According to Schmidt (2007), the

major concerns having to do with containerized transport are the infrastructure and superstructure

planning (ports and container terminal location and design), equipment operations and design

(“ships and for example quay cranes”), schedule and voyage design (which ports to visit and what

order), container operations (efficient and effective utilization of equipment, layout of terminal

etc.),port and ship security (“the use of a closed box for transportation also enables all sorts of

illegal uses”), and the coordination of port stakeholders involved in operations. According to

Schmidt (2007), the five elements in maritime container transport consists of: containers, ships

carrying the containers, ports where ships call, terminals handling “loading and unloading of

containers onto the ships”, and “the processes that move containers to and from these terminals”.

Container provides transportation of goods in a standardized form. Immediately loading of the

container is finished, goods in the container cannot be handled, only the container is handled. The

acceptance of container’s standardization globally, has both its advantages (reduction in the cost

of maritime transport, reduction in service time for loading and unloading and an increase in goods

compatibility with ships) and disadvantages (“the installed bases of containers and handling

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equipment limit the potential for innovation”). An interesting innovation is the design of the

foldable container (Konings, 2005). From the time the first converted ship that could carry

containers was introduced, they have been an increasing in the sale and purchase market for

specialized ships as well as the ships carrying capacity. (Schmidt 2009), “As the ships get bigger,

the number of containers per ship increases and the number of containers to be unloaded and loaded

on a single visit to a container terminal increases”. “The time a ship spends in port waiting for the

unloading operations can be considered non-productive time and the ship’s operator (the carrier)

would like this time to be as short as possible” (Schmidt 2009).There arises a compulsion on

container handling operators at the terminal to provide the shortest possible turn-around time of

the vessel. “The economies of scale are clearly evident in maritime container transport but do

depend on a high degree of utilization”. If the utilization drops, then these large ships become less

economical to run than smaller ships with a high degree of utilization. “The first container ship

featured on-board cranes to load and unload the containers”; “the port infrastructure was not yet

in place to handle this type of cargo”. “Once the use of containers took off, dedicated facilities

known as container terminals were created”. “In these terminals, large quay cranes can lift the

containers from the ship to the quay and vice versa”. “Moving the cranes from the ship to the shore

meant that more space became available for containers on the ship and it also eliminated

restrictions on the size of the ship imposed by the reach of the on-board” cranes.

2.3.1 Containerized transportation: history and prospects

According to Notteboom (2004), the widely adoption of containerized transportation since its

introduction in the late 1960’s, saw an increase in the flow of goods globally. The main “trade

lanes “today are between (East) Asia, (Western) Europe, and (North) America”. These “trade lanes

“are operated by several (groups of) liner shipping companies” (Notteboom, 2004).

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“In addition to the increase in the flow containers”, there have an increase in the size of ocean

going vessels in recent years. The size of vessels have increased of 1500 Twenty-foot Equivalent

Unit (TEU) in the year 1980 to approximately 14,500 Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) in the

year 2006 (ESPO, 2007). This increase in vessel sizes also attributed to number of vessel call at

the port. This increase had an immense effect on the terminal/port’s equipment’s as well as

transportation to the hinterlands (Visser 2007). “A call size denotes the number of containers a

barge or sea vessel has to load and unload at a terminal”. “The significant change in vessel design

has an impact on a vessel turnaround time” (Schmidt 2009).

2.3.2 Ships

Since the first time ships were converted to enable them carry containers was introduced, “ships

have become more specialized and have steadily increased in size”. (See figure 2.1 for pictures of

a Neopanamax ship at berth.) “As the ships get bigger, the number of containers per ship increases

and the number of containers to be unloaded and loaded on a single visit to a container terminal

increases”. “The time a ship spends in port waiting for the (un)loading operations can be

considered non-productive time and the ship’s operator (the carrier) would like this time to be as

short as possible”. “The pressure is therefore on the container terminal operator to provide the

shortest possible turn-around time”. “The economies of scale are clearly evident in maritime

container transport but do depend on a high degree of utilization. If the utilization drops, then these

large ships become less economical to run than smaller ships with a high degree of utilization”.

The first container ship featured on-board cranes to load and unload the containers; the port

infrastructure was not yet in place to handle this type of cargo. “Once the use of containers took

off, dedicated facilities known as container terminals were created. In these terminals, large quay

cranes can lift the containers from the ship to the quay and vice versa”. “Moving the cranes from

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the ship to the shore meant that more space became available for containers on the ship and it also

eliminated restrictions on the size of the ship imposed by the reach of the on-board cranes”.

Figure 2.1

Source: DP World Southampton

Prior to 1969 ship built were converted to tankers or break-bulk. The ships generally ranged from

750-1000 TEU capacity, an approximately 9 meters draft, a speed of 18–21 knots, and “were fitted

with shipboard cranes to handle containers”. “In 1969, the first ship specifically designed for

containership service was built”. This saw a rise of new generation larger and more efficient

containerized ships with a carrying capacity ranging from 1000 TEU to 1500 TEU and service

speed of 20 to 23 knots. The design of the ship was to use quay cranes rather than derricks on the

ships. The removal of cranes increased productivity in cargo-handling operations and gave room

for stowage of more containers.

2.3.3 Container terminal

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According to Schmidt (2009), a container terminal is a designated area that provides transfer and

interchange of containers between two modes of transport (sea and land).“This is a loose coupling

as a buffer storage area, the stack, is used to temporarily store containers before moving on to their

destination” (Schmidt 2009). “The quality of a container terminal can be measured both in terms

of its operational efficiency (in particular fast turn-around times for sea-going vessels) and in terms

of its connections” (Schmidt 2007). “These connections can be by rail (for transport by train), by

road (transport by truck), and by water (for transport by barge (inland waterways) and short-sea

vessels (feeders)”. “A lot of research has been devoted to the efficient operation of container

terminals; for overviews, we refer to Gunther and Kim (2006), Steenken et al. (2004) and”

Stahlbock and Voß (2008). In many ports, getting the containers to and from the terminals becomes

increasingly difficult. As many moves are done by truck, road congestion and operational

bottlenecks may disrupt terminal operations. “Within the terminal, the main issues are space

(especially during times of extraordinary demand growth), the stacking strategy, berth and quay

crane allocation, and coordination of operations” (Schmidt 2009). “Operations at a container

terminal are tested most when a large vessel calls”. “The size of the vessel means that a large

number of containers have to be offloaded and a comparably large number of other containers have

to be loaded” (Schmidt 2009). “As these vessels are very expensive, both to construct and to

operate, there is considerable pressure to perform these operations as quickly as possible” (Schmidt

2009). “This pressure also explains why carriers like APM-Maersk have gotten involved in the

container terminal business: they want to secure access to terminal capacity as well as fast and

efficient handling of their ships” (Schmidt 2009). “The growth of containerized transport has

stressed the entire transport system and in particular the container terminals as they provide the

link between the maritime and hinterland transport”. “Ports used to be considered important in

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terms of employment, direct port workers, (customs, shipping agencies, tug-operators) and indirect

(banks, knowledge industries (Regional Maritime University etc.), consultancy, IT-services)”.

“Ports have also become attractive locations for warehousing activities and value-added logistics

(labelling, assembly, repackaging), creating yet more employment” (Schmidt 2009). “Finally,

there is the employment of the transport companies that provide access to the hinterland (by truck,

train, or barge)”. “In political terms, the land used by container terminals and the environmental

impact of the logistics associated with global trade have caused a shift from container terminals as

focus points for logistical and value-added processes to an emphasis on the disadvantages”. “The

congestion and emissions caused by many container movements by truck are shaping future

policies”. The port extension plan in the TEMA port for example mandates a shift from truck to

rail land-barge transport, as part of a plan to mitigate these disadvantages”. “In the USA, the state

of California has passed a bill to regulate the queuing outside terminal gates to reduce emissions

and highway congestion”. “While the bill did not have the desired effect (it regulates queuing

outside the terminal; there are no implications for queuing inside the terminal), it has led terminal

operators to move towards more controlled arrivals of trucks with the implementation of truck

appointment systems” (Schmidt et al Giuliano and O’Brien, 2009).

2.3.4 Container Terminal Management

Most often than none the word seaport, terminal and port are used interchangeably according to

Schmidt (2009). An attempt is made by researcher to bring clarity to the subject matter. A port can

simply be said to be a place shipping of goods is done. The use of ports is synonymous with

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maritime trade and cargo carrying ships. “The advent of rail road’s, automobile’s, and airplane’s

associates the mode of transport using the port, i.e. airport, seaport”. A terminal is simply a special

designated area that handles specific kinds of goods at the port, (e.g. “cars, containers, wood,

people”, etc). “The situation today must reflect the change in institutional structures where port

authorities are granting concessions to stevedoring companies to operate terminals (i.e. CTs)

independently and competitively within the port” area.

Container terminal management for the researcher’s point is the efficient planning, coordination

and control of the flow and storage of containers from ships to terminals. Primarily the goal of a

container terminal manager is design well-structured strategies that aim at improving satisfaction

of customers, as well as competitive advantage of the terminal. “The main functions of the

container terminal management are the planning of operations and the controlling the movements

of containers”. “Container terminal management is often driven by experience rather than theory”.

How a container terminal is managed can influence linear company to use a particular container

terminal. “Thus, it is imperative that the container terminal management is able to satisfy its

customers such as minimizing the time that a ship spends berthed at a terminal”. In other for reduce

time ships spend at a port, port management must tediously device means of increasing its

productivity in relations to moves (container crane moves per hour).This is paramount in the

measurement of container terminal performance. Much emphasis in the industry has been viewed

to be on the productivity of the crane whilst disregarding that the discharge rate which at times can

lead to congestion on the quay. It has been observed through port visits and interviews that many

terminals in Europe are handling containers seven times or more, which is leading to unproductive

and expensive moves within the container terminals.

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The increasing complexity of CT operations requires management to decide allocation of resources

but also the sequence and timing of operations. Due to tradition and outdated practices, the

management of a CT or port is often fragmented, with differing organizations handling specific

tasks within the terminal. Through interview and observations we suggest that many CT managers

are often faced with these types of problems;

• lack of planning

• not enough delegation

• ad hoc planning

• little insight in terminal operations

• lack of unity of control

“The choice of organizational structure has been observed by (Cullinane 2002) to affect the

efficiency and ultimately performance of container terminals”. “The most common structure in

container terminal management is a “unity of command”, where the key decisions are made by a

single manager or group of terminal managers (Valentin and Gray 2002)”. “The development of

specific departments leads to specialists in planning, i.e. ship planners, yard planners, resource

planners”. The decision made by container terminal management demands an understanding of the

customer service requirements, such as:

• “Performance – fast turn ship-turnaround time”

• “Reliability – steady and predictable performance”

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 • “Cost – should be competitive and predictable”

• “Quality – no waste or damage during operations, and”

• “Adaptability – capacity of container terminal operators to negotiate and propose solutions

to shipping line schedules and other customer requirements”.

“Additionally, container terminal managers must understand their resource availabilities, costs,

and other constraints, such as schedules, budgets, regulations, and their objectives” (Frankel 1987).

“The main objective of many container terminals is on cost leadership and terminal

competitiveness, which is often based on performance. As stated by Persyn (1998),”by means of

improving productivity, cost leadership is gained by the container terminal, due to the fact that

terminal cost is a part of shipping total cost.

2.4 Port Performance

According to Talley (1994), “one of the traditional port performance indicators is comparing actual

throughput with its optimum throughput for a specified time period, which is decided by physical

maximum throughput that can be handled by a port”. Recent studies by Petit and Beresford (2008),

indicated that port traffic is still used as an important port performance measurement. Due to the

fact that costs of port logistics are incurred by linear companies as well as inland carriers, it was

also stated that performance indicators relates to the optimum economic throughput rather than the

physical throughput, i.e. “efficiency or effectiveness have been used popularly like the study by

Mentzer and Konrad” (1991). Effectiveness is relates to the quality of service rendered to users by

the port, while Efficiency relates to the utilization of resources available (how well it is being

utilized).

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In other perspective, “Tsamboulas (2001) briefly introduces traditional logistics measurement

systems aiming to capture five types of performance including asset management, cost, customer

service, productivity, and logistics quality”.

2.5 PORT PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The performance of a port is basically measured with regards to the speed that a vessel is

despatched, duration/rate that a cargo is handled and how long the “cargo stays in the port prior to

shipment or post discharge”. “However, a progressive port manager would also wish to know how

extensively and intensively its assets are being utilized as well as how well the operations perform

financially”. “Indicators to measure these performances are determined generally in relation to the

tonnage of shipping calling at the port and of the volume of cargo handled since port services in

the main are rendered to ships and cargo” (Kek Choo Chung 1993).

2.5.1 OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

According to Chong (1993), “Primary measures of vessel performance are the ship turn-round time

and the tonnage handled per ship day in port”. A ship’s turn-round time is the “period of time

vessel's stay in port and is calculated from the time of arrival to the time of departure”. Ship’s turn-

round time is normally expressed in days; however it is now a norm for turn-round time to be

expressed in hours as opined by Chong (1993). Port authority traditionally compile statistical data

that gives an insight on the average turn-round times of the port (i.e. monthly annually).

Determining the “average turn-round time per ship” is derived by “dividing total hours at port by

total number of ships call at port” (Kek 1993). “In its basic form, ship turn-round time does not

mean much, as the length of stay of a vessel is influenced by (a) the volume of cargo, (b) the

facilities made available and (c) the composition of the cargo itself”. “Thus it becomes necessary

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for the port to break the basic ship turn-round time down for tankers, bulk carriers, container

vessels and general cargo vessels, and even subdividing these into domestic trade, regional trade

and ocean going vessels”.

“Since the duration of a vessel's stay in port is influenced by the volume of cargo that it works, a

more useful measure of vessel performance is the tonnage handled per day or hour that the vessel

is in port”. “The average tonnage handled per ship day or ship hour would be obtained by dividing

the total tonnage of cargo that is loaded and discharged by the total number of hours that all vessels

spend in port”.

“In compiling data that would enable the port to determine ship turn-round time or the tonnage

handled per ship day (or ship hour), a port would normally split total time in port into time at berth

and time off the berth and within each, the opportunity would be taken to record for each service

activity the amount of delay (idle time) as well as the reasons for the delay (e.g., waiting for cargo,

opening/closing hatches, waiting for gears, rain, waiting for berth, etc)”. “In particular, the ratio

between the waiting time for berth and the time spent at berth, known as the waiting rate, is a

significant indicator of possible congestion status”.

“While the tonnage handled per ship day (or hour) is a measure of the volume of cargo handled

per unit of time of the vessel in port, productivity in ports is generally measured in terms of the

tonnage of cargo handled per unit of work station per hour”. “In the case of general cargo, the

work station is the gang, with containers, it is the crane (or hook)”. “Thus productivity is measured

in terms of (a) tons per gang hour for general cargo and (b) TEUs/per crane (or hook) hour”. “With

tons per gang hour, the size of the gang is a material factor, as generally and up to a point, the

larger the gang size the greater its output”. “Hence a more useful indicator of productivity for

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general cargo is the tonnage handled per man hour”. “In establishing the size of the gang, it should

be noted that some ports have separate stevedoring and wharf gangs while some have an integrated

gang that works on board vessels (stevedoring) as well as at the apron (wharf-fingering)”. “It

should also be pointed out that very often the size and nature of the consignment has an influence

on gang performance”. Generally, the larger and more homogeneous the consignment the greater

is the productivity.

“The assessment of a port's performance from the point of view of the exporter/importer is quite

basic in that there is only one indicator of interest, the dwell time of cargo in port measured in

terms of the number of days that a ton of cargo remains in port”. “A high dwell time is generally

an indication that all is not well with the port. It does not, however, identify areas where

improvements may be sought since, unlike ship time in port, it does not have a breakdown

according to the various procedures that have to be gone through before cargo can be shipped or

delivered (e.g., customs clearance, waiting for instructions, waiting for ship, waiting for transport,

etc.)”..

2.5.2 ASSET PERFORMANCE

“Performance in asset utilization is measured in relation to the tonnage of ships calling at a port

and/or the tonnage of cargo handled”. “Since the main assets of a port are its berths, it is important

to measure the performance of the berths in terms of the throughput handled per berth”. “Berth

throughput, therefore, is the total tonnage of cargo handled across a berth”. “Most ports obtain an

average berth throughput by dividing the total tonnage handled at berths with the number of berths

available at the port”. “A preferred method is to determine individually for each berth the total

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tonnage handled at the berth and then arrive at an average for all the berths”. “Throughput at berth

is also measured in terms of tonnage handled per linear meter (or foot) of wharf”.

“The degree of utilization of a berth is measured by the berth utilization rate. This is the percentage

of actual working time at the berth in relation to the time that the berth is occupied”. “This indicator

seems more useful than the berth occupancy rate which measures the time that the berth is occupied

relative to the total time that is available”.

“Like ship turn-round time, berth throughput is influenced largely by the class of commodity

handled at the berth so that it becomes necessary to establish indicators that measure berth

throughputs in the context of the class of cargo handled” (container, bulk general cargo, etc.).

2.5.3 UNCTAD Six Key Primary Indicators (KPIs) For Port Terminals

According to UNCTAD, “Key Performance Indicator is a measurable value that demonstrates how

effectively a company is achieving key business objectives. KPIs can be used to evaluate how

successful a company is at reaching specific targets”. A high-level KPI takes into account major

performance goals, while low-level KPI main concern is the daily operations/processes of

departments of its organisation (e.g. Business development). For ports, measurement of KPIs for

the improvement of productivity and operational efficiencies is crucial. “With vessel sizes on the

rise, shipping companies are more demanding than ever”.”However, selecting high-quality KPIs

isn’t easy”. “The best way to evaluate the relevance of a KPI is to use the SMART criteria. SMART

is an acronym that typically stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-

bound”.

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“Effectively implementing KPIs requires a well-thought out strategy”. “Too often, companies

blindly adopt industry KPIs without reflecting on their own organization’s goals”. ”Before

applying KPI measurements, organizations should start with the basics and truly understand what

their goals are, how they plan on achieving those goals, and the members of the organization which

will be in charge of implementation and measurement”.

“For port and terminal managers, and anyone seeking to improve operations and business

performance drastically, KPIs are one the most efficient tools to measure and improve terminal-

wide performance”.

2.6 Measuring Port Performance and Productivity

As stated by Monie (1987), “ports are basically service providers, specifically providers of service

to cargo, inland transports and vessels” The level of port performance can be achieved by the

degree of satisfaction obtained on the basis of a pre-set operational standard. As opined by Monie

(1987), “it is already obvious that port performance level will differ, pending on whether inland

transport vehicles, ships and cargo are served” . He also insinuated that “the likelihood of port

performance not being limited to one group of port users, rather it cuts across all port’s service as

well as port users from a holistic viewpoint” . In other words, poor port performance has a ripple

effect all port’s operations. It is imperative to bear in mind that port performance cannot be

measured on a single value basis; it should be measured from a holistic view point. As stated by

Monie (1987), “a meaningful evaluation of a port’s performance requires set of measures that

relates to :

1. Service quality to inland transport vehicles during passage through the port

2. Ships duration at the port

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 3. Quality service of cargo-handling operations

As state by the above stated scholar, complicating factors arises due to the interrelationship

between the above sets and between various measurements of performance in each of the above

listed. It is not worth considering and amiss to analyze each of the performance measures in

isolation.

2.7 Port Performance Analytic Theories Reviews

There are a good number of scholarly papers in related areas of ports operational performance,

cargo-handling performance and vessel turn-round, those analytic theories and models were

developed. Some of scholarly research papers, which will be stated below, were reviewed by the

researcher and subsequently drew up conclusion and proffered solution through recommendations.

When researching or measuring operational performance, there are two basic concepts that come

to play; efficiency and productivity. Productivity is the concept that commonly relates to the

volume of output to the volume of input measure (performance is compared to benchmark). While

Efficiency can be said to be a relative concept. “In the literature of analysing performance of

containers at the terminals; there are two main studies to operational performance: gross measures

of productivity and shift measures of technical change” (Tretheway et al. Waters, 1992). The

mostly used analytic theories in the measurement of productivity and efficiency of a port include:

linear regression, data envelopment analysis, stochastic frontier analysis, queuing theory and

vector error correction model.

2.7.1 Stochastic Frontier Analysis

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“Frontier Analysis is a parametric and stochastic approach to estimate productive efficiency”.

When a port produces a maximum output (in relations to container traffic in TEU) for a given input

(port superstructure), it is said to be efficient. Studies on the efficiency of container terminal and

cargo-handling operations tend to lay emphasis on a aspect of productivity measure such as tonne

handled per crane, instead of measuring productivity from a holistic view point. These don’t give

a vivid picture on the overall efficiency of cargo-handling operations in the port. This research will

present a systematic approach in measuring cargo-handling efficiency based on Stochastic Frontier

modelling. A Bayesian Stochastic Frontier Model is a stochastic and parametric method for

analysing productive efficiency (Culliname&Song, 2003).

According to Culliname and Song (2003), “stochastic production function takes into account of

statistical noise (composed error) and models the level of inefficiency via a non-negative

disturbance” As such, the level of (in) efficiency of different berth can be compared. The model is

tested using a sample of 36 European container terminals, supplemented with four Asian container

ports. In general, north European container terminals attain a slightly higher degree of efficiency

than southern terminals. Terminals located in hub ports on average are considered as more efficient

than those in feeder ports.

2.7.2 Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

Data Envelopment Analysis is simply a mathematical model used in estimating productivity and

efficiency. This aids in mapping out production frontier, it is basically based on output and input

data. “The degree of (in) efficiency is measured by the distance between the observation and the

frontier. Scholars are of the view that the efficiency of a container port is an important factor for

the international competitiveness of the” country. “For this reason, intensive studies have been

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carried out in order to determine port performance across all the regions of the world” (Mpogolo

2013). Cullinane and Wang, (2006) used the DEA model to measure the efficiency of 69 container

terminals in Europe with an annual throughput over 10000 TEUs.

“The findings of the study include significant inefficiency that generally pervades most of the

terminals. Le-Griffin and Murphy (2008) assessed the productivity of Los Angeles and Long

Beach ports and compared these measurements with those of other major container ports situated

in the U.S. and overseas”. “The drawn comparisons suggest that the ports of Los Angeles and Long

Beach are underperforming relative to other leading container ports”. Turner et al. (2004) used

“DEA for measuring the growth of seaport infrastructure productivity in North America from 1984

to 1997 and explored several causal relationships between infrastructure productivity and industry

structure and conduct”. “The authors stated that during the study period gross infrastructure

productivity rose on average for North American container ports”. “By applying the DEA model,

so (Cullinane and Wang, 2006) attempted to measure the operational efficiency of 19 major

container ports in Northeast” Asia. “According to the obtained results, the conclusion that 8

container ports were operated efficiently was made; Hong Kong was ranked top as the most

efficient port in” Northeast Asia.

Liu et al. “(2008) used DEA models and Malmquist TFP approach for determining the efficiency

of 47 terminals in China with an annual throughput over 10000 Trustee strength of the DEA

approach is that no prior structural assumption is places on the production process”. The drawbacks

of the approach are; it is very sensitive to outline is: it does not take into account the measurement

error and statistical noise, and therefore not possible to test the statistical significance of the

efficiency index specific observation (Valentine & Gray, 2000).

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2.7.3 Vector Error Correction Model

Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) takes into account the short-run and Long-run

interactions of several variables: Crane operating hours, Container moves, Gross labour hours and

Container-yard storage capacity. Impulse response analysis proved that a standard deviation in

container moves (monthly, weekly or daily), has a significant effect on equipment efficienct usage

and yard storage capacity, important factors that shipping lines are likely to give serious

consideration when choosing a trans-shipment terminal. The findings of this model suggest that in

order to improve efficiency the time containers remain in-transit on the terminal has to be

contained because this affects storage capacity utilization and significantly impacts other variables

such as machine hours and labour hours (Mpogolo 2013)

2.7.3 Linear Regression

“Linear regression models consider multiple variables of container traffic and try to make a

relationship between changes in the handled tonnage and set of significant parameters.” It “is

necessary to have data of the previous twenty years or quarterly data for the previous seven years

to confirm a meaningful relationship with the tonnage handled, the GDP of countries of origin or

destination, spending or consumption, investments, income per capita, development of economic

activities” (Hajib et al De Matron 2011). “In contrast, the author specifically used regression model

to consider multiple variables of container traffic and try to make a relationship between changes

in the handled tonnage and set of significant” parameters.

“In this study the research employed regression model considers multiple variables of container

traffic and try to make a relationship between changes in handled tonnage, berth output, service

time and parameters significant to the study.”

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2.8 Summary

The concept of cargo-handling operations and its effect on vessel turn-round time is measured in

the context of output, service time, equipment utilization and productivity of containerized cargo.

This literature lays emphasis on the concept of productivity and efficiency of cargo-handling

operations at Tema port. This concept was adopted due to its comprehensive nature and the effect

performance has on service delivery and port competiveness.

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This chapter presents the methodology employed in the study; it describes research methods, target

population, sampling techniques and the sample size. In addition, it presents data collection

methods employed in the study and rationale for employing these techniques

3.2 Research Design

The research adopted a mixed method model, Niglas (2000) opined that a mixed method studies,

combine the qualitative and quantitative approaches within different phases of the research process.

In this research qualitative and quantitative were interwoven, a qualitative approach was used to

analyse the perception of cargo-handling performance, while quantitative approach was used to

quantify relationships between variables, which are the operation performance for ship to shore

operations (waiting time, service time, idle time and output) and turnaround time, to determine

correlation between these two variables. According to the research questions, the main variables

of the study are of numerical nature and are mathematically analysed in order to establish

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relationships between them. It was therefore imperative for the researcher to go for mixed research

design.

3.3 Target Population

The research was conducted at the Tema Port, Ghana. Tema Port is located at Eastern coast of

Ghana, set within the industrial city of Tema, in the Greater Accra region and 30km from the

capital Accra. The target population for this research include stakeholders in the ship to shore

operations (shipping agents, crane operators, vessel officers and Ghana ports and harbour officers).

3.4 Sampling Procedure

A non-probability sampling method was adopted; Data collection will be done by picking

respondent by a purposive sampling method. Lewis & Thornhill (2012) opined that purposive

sampling method may prove to be effective when only a limited number of people can serve as a

primary data sources due to the nature of design and aims and Objectives. The purposive sampling

is one of the non-probability techniques used to select members with some predetermined or

special characteristics that make them convenient enough to represent a target population. The

researcher therefore considered the management staff, Crane Operators, Vessel crew is amongst

the target population. The sample selected was thereby a set of maritime experts who are

experienced and have adequate technical knowhow in the area of port operations in Ghana.

3.5 Sample Size and Sampling Techniques

Sample size for this study was derived by putting different factors into consideration such as,

accessibility to information, availability of information, research cost, and time.

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Table 3.1 is a presentation of the target population, sample size and method and the research

instrument used to obtain information from the respondents.

Table 3.1 Sample Size and Techniques

TARGET SAMPLE SIZE POSITION RESEARCH
POPULATION INSTRUMENT

MANAGEMENT 5 Operations Interview

STAFF Officers

CRANE 10 Contract and Interview and

OPERATORS Permanent staff observation

VESSEL CREW 10 Shipping line Interview and

contract staff questionnaires

SHIP’S AGENT 30 Management Questionnaires

staff

Source: Researcher’s survey

3.5 Data Collection

According to Leedy & Ormrod (2005:143), researchers can use observations, interviews, objects,

written documents, audio visual materials, electronic documents, and anything else that can help

them answer their research questions. The most common type of data collection methods are

interviews, questionnaires and written documents. Leedy & Ormrod (2005:144) further say that

the potential sources of data are limited only by the researcher’s open mindedness and creativity.

The methods adopted mainly in this research were overt observation, semi-structured interview

written documents (literature) and questionnaires. According to Saunders et al (2000), a

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questionnaire is a technique of data collection in which people are asked to respond to the same

set of questions in a predetermined order. Questionnaires often make use of checklist and rating

scales.

Meanwhile the new data that will be collected from the administration of the questionnaires for

this study is called primary data or original data. The second type is the secondary data, which is

data that already exists, that has been written by another author, for a different purpose; (Hussey

& Hussey 1997). In this study both the primary and secondary data were used. The primary data

was used for the main analysis while the secondary data was used to source literature from existing

studies relating to this topic.

The data collection process was done through a systematic sequence of events. The process began

by first seeking permission from the Human Resources Department of Ghana Port Authority in

order to seek approval and inform the respondents on the need to undertake the study.

However, the researcher made a self-introduction and requested for consent of the respondents

taking part in the exercise. Subsequently, questionnaires were then administered to the respondents.

On the other hand, the secondary data were collected from existing literature relating to the study

topic.

3.6 Data Sources

The researcher adopted both Primary and secondary data as its source.

3.5.1 Primary Data

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Information from this source will include, questionnaires, (to analyse customers perception on

operational performance at the port), observation (to impute certain phenomena at various berths)

which be recorded and, granting of interviews, that is considered relevant to the study.

3.5.1 Secondary Data

Secondary data included published and unpublished papers. Published materials from GPHA site,

journals, newspaper articles and bulletins, and the various port publications including the annual

TEU’s of Tema port. Unpublished materials included extracts from the records of the Ghana

Customs and the GPHA respectively on the volume of cargo transported imported in selected years.

These two set of records will provide data for the hypotheses of the study. Other unpublished

works included various postgraduate dissertation thesis and seminar papers, mimeographs and

lecture notes. The internet equally contributed a significant part of the secondary data source.

3.6 Measurement of Variables

The study is based on two variables; the independent variables i.e. cargo-handling performance

which is measured by (service time waiting time, idle time, berth throughput productivity and ship

output), and dependent variable, vessel Turn-around time. Both are quantitative numerical

variables.

3.7 Data Analysis

Confidentiality and personal data protection will be duly observed in this study. The data collected

from the questionnaires will be analysed using Microsoft excel, and presented using descriptive

statistical techniques. In processing the data collected from the sampled units, responses from the

questionnaires will be obtained, coded, tallied and grouped. Frequency tables will be constructed

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and used to present the findings and conclusions will be drawn based on the percentages. Bar and

pie charts will also be used to present some of the data. While the audio tapes of each interview

will be transcribed verbatim and relevant comments.

3.8 Reliability and Validity of Data

“Reliability refers to the stability and consistency of the results of the research work and answers

the question of whether a data is dependable using a consistent measurement whilst research

validity is the congruence or the ability to fit between the operational definition and the concept it

is meant to measure (Singleton & Strait, 2010)”.According to Ivankova (2002), “for validity to be

attained, the researcher can use one of the four credibility determinants he enumerated including

triangulation and member checking (pretesting)”. “To achieve reliability of the data presented

herein, the researcher applied the use of several research instruments including observation, focus

group and personal interviews amongst scattered sampled respondents to fetch all the necessary

information from many different angles as” possible. “This multi-instrumentation also known as

triangulation has enabled to the researcher to consider the opinions and thoughts of all the

stakeholders in the ship-to-shore operations in the collation of the data”.

“Following the assertion that “a valid measure is necessarily reliable, but a reliable data may or

may not be valid” (Singleton & Strait, 2010), “it is worth stating that once data validity has been

achieved with the use of triangulation, pretesting of research instruments, data reliability is as well

guaranteed in the work.”

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS

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4.0 INTRODUCTION

“In this chapter, the researcher made attempts to analyze data and interpret results based on the

various research data instruments employed.” “The analyses were segmented into questionnaires,

semi-structured interviews and overt observations.” Presentations “will be carried out in Tabular

formats for the purpose of simplicity.”

4.1 Analysis on Response Rate (Questionnaires)

As presented in Table 4.1, four classes of ports stakeholders were deemed relevant to this paper

by the researcher. Out of those four classes, the research distributed 40 questionnaires to vessel

crew and importers 35 questionnaires were retrieved for analysis constitutes 87.50% response rate.

The response rate is high. The high response rate also gives validity to the findings from the data

as Figure 4.1

Figure 4.1

12.50%

87.50%

Responsive Non-Responsive

Source: Field study 2017

4.2 Characteristics and Demography of Respondents

The classification of respondent represents both vessel’s crew and ships agents, Table 4.1 presents

the demography respondents that cargo-handling performance have a direct effect on. As

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presented on Table 4.1, 94.29% are male while 5.71% are females, in regards to age distribution,

there is no respondent 18 and below, 3 respondents represented which constitutes 9.09% are

between 18-29, 21(63.64%) are between the age of 30-39. 7(21.21%) are between the of 40-49,

and 2 (6.06%) are above 50. In respect to work experience, 5.71% have 2 years below experience,

17.14% have 2-5 years’ experience, and 34.29 % have 6-10 years’ experience, 25.71% have 11-

15 years’ experience, and 17.14% are 16 years and above experienced. Employment status 20%

was contract staffs, 37. 14% were permanent while 2.86% for interns and 40% owned their

respective companies. Table 4.2 presents a vivid description of the educational level of 35

respondents, 7 which constitute 20 % have a post-graduate certificate, 16 (45%) have B.Sc. and

HND, 9 (25.71%) have technical certificate (marine engine mechanic, diploma in nautical science

etc.), and 3 (8.57%) have just high school certificate respectively.

Table 4.1

Variables category Number Percentage

Gender male 33 94.29%

female 2 5.71%
Age Below 18 0 0.00%
18-29 3 9.09%
30-39 21 63.64%
40-49 7 21.21%
50 above 2 6.06%
Experience below 2 years 2 5.71%
2-5 years 6 17.14%
6-10 years 12 34.29%
11-15 years 9 25.71%
16 years above 6 17.14%
Employment status Causal 0 0.00%
Contract 7 20.00%
Permanent 13 37.14%
Internship 1 2.86%
Owner 14 40.00%

Source: Field survey 2017

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Table 4.2 Respondent Educational Level
Total
Degree Number Respondent %
Post-Graduate 7 35 20.00%
BSc/Hnd 16 35 45.71%
Technical Training 9 35 25.71%
High-School 3 35 8.57%

Source: Field survey 2017

4.2.1 Length of Conducting Business at the Port

Table 4.2.1 presents the length of time respondents have been conducting business at Tema port.10

constituting (28.57%) of the respondent have conducted business between 1 to 3 years, while 13

(37.14%) have conducted business between 4 to 6 years while 12 (34.29%) have conducted

business at Tema port respectively.

Table 4.2.1 Length of Business at the Port

operations year Freqeuncy Percentage

1-3 years 10 28.57%
4-6 years 13 37.14%
7 years above 12 34.29%

Source: Field Survey

4.2.2 Frequency of Vessel’s Call and Import

A questionnaire is distributed to vessel crew and ship agents (importers) to try and ascertain the

frequency of their vessel call at Tema port, often represents more than 6 times a year, sometimes

represents 5 – 2 times a year, while rarely represents once a year and below. The questionnaire

was sub-divided into vessel crew and importers due to the fact that the researcher felt that the

choice of port of the vessel call is dependent on factors beyond their control, while the importer

can insist of choice of port pending on tonnage of cargo and charter party. Table 4.2.2 and Figure

4.2.2 presents a statistically interpretation about frequency of vessel’s call and import.

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Table 4.2.2 Frequency of Vessel’s Call and Import

Category Often Sometimes Rarely

Vessel's crew 5 4 1
Importers 20 3 2
Percentage 71.43% 20.00% 8.57%
Source: Field Survey

Figure 4.2.2

Vessel's call and Imports

25 80.00%
70.00%
20
60.00%
15 50.00%
40.00%
10 30.00%
20.00%
5
10.00%
0 0.00%
Often Sometimes Rarely

Vessel's crew Importers Percentage

Source: Field Survey

Table 4.2.2 and figure 4.2.2 gives statistical description of vessel call of respondents at Tema port.

Out of the 35 respondents, 25 representing 71.43% call at Tema port often, 7 representing 20%

call somethings and 3 representing 8.57%.

4.3 Customers Perception Quay Crane performance in Relations to Service delivery

The researcher tried to get a vivid picture on the perception of the port customers on quay-crane

performance in relations to; (crane moves, crane service time). Table 4.3 presents a statistical

description on customer’s perception.

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4.6 Customers Perception on Ship-Shore operation

The researcher tried to get a vivid picture on the perception of the port customers in relations to

the ship-to-shore cargo-handling performance which constitutes (pre arrival, berth allocation

service time and waiting time). It sub-divide the weighted score into Very good (80%vabove),

Good (79-60%), Average (59-50%), below Average (49% below). It was weighed against

performance: pre-arrival, berth allocation, waiting time, service time. Out of the 35 respondents,

8 (5.71%), rated performance as very good,

Table 4.6 Customer’s Perception on Cargo-handling Performance

Performance pre-arrival Berth allocation Waiting time Service time Total percentage
Very-Good 2 5 0 1 5.71%
Good 15 3 4 2 17.14%
Average 13 17 6 10 32.86%
Below average 5 10 25 22 44.29%
Source: Field Survey

Figure 4.6

Cargo-handling Performance
30 50.00%

25 40.00%
20
30.00%
15
20.00%
10

5 10.00%

0 0.00%
Very-Good Good Average Below average

pre-arrival Berth allocation Waiting time

Service time Total percentage

Source: Field Survey

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4.4 Analysis on Container Handled at Berth

A question was Table 4.4 presents statistics of berths capable of handling containerized cargo at

Tema port, it also presents the maximum handling capacity, Length-overall and maximum

permissible draught per berth at Tema port. The table shows that there are 11 berths capable of

handling container traffic at Tema port, berth 1 and 2 are container berths which is being operated

by MPS, whilst berth 3-10 and 13 are multipurpose berths operated by GPHA, and can also handle

containerized cargo. Berth 1 and 2 can accommodate bigger ships with a draught of up to 13 meters,

followed by berth 3 and 4 can accommodate ships with maximum draught of 10 and 9.2 meters

respectively, berth 7 has the smaller draught in the lot, whilst 5,6,8,9,10,13 can accommodate 8.2

meters’. The length overall that each of the berth varies as stated in table 4.1.

Table 4.4

Berths Maximum draught (metres) LOA (metres)

1 Container 13 299
2 Container 13 275
3 Multipurpose 10 228
4 Multipurpose 9.2 181
5 Multipurpose 8.5 183
6 Multipurpose 8.2 183
7 Multipurpose 7.5 183
8 Multipurpose 8.2 183
9 Multipurpose 8.2 183
10 Multipurpose 8.2 183
13 Multipurpose 8.2 100
Source: Field survey

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4.4.1 Container Throughput per Berth for 2017

Table presents statistics on the throughput of each berth and the share of containerized throughput

at the port of each berth. Berths 1 and 2, are under concession to MPS, they are the deepest berth

in Tema (at 13 meters) and the only berths equipped with shore-based gantry cranes.

4.4.2 Analysis on Vessel call

From observation conducted, 10 container vessel called at Tema port from 31st March – 18th April

2017, the table presents the sum of container unit and the tonnage of container carried by the vessel.

Table 4.4.1 presents the various vessel names and her container sum unit.

Table 4.7
Vessel name Container Sum unit
CORCOVADO 554
AS MARIANA 1902
COLOMBIAN STAR 195
COSCO NAGOYA 1372
GRANDE CAMEPOON 358
BOMAR RESOLUTE 625
CARIBEAN STAR 131
AS MAGNOLIA 1209
CHOPIN 417
COSTARICAN STAR 177
Source: Field Study

4.4.3 Analysis on Pre-berthing Waiting Time

Table presents statistics of 10 vessels at anchorage waiting to be allocated a berth, it presents the

vessel’s name, sum of container unit, Weight, arrival time, waiting time at anchorage, and time at

berth.

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Table 4.6
Vessel name Arrival date Arrival time Berth date Berth time Waiting time
CORCOVADO 3/31/2017 10:45 4/1/2017 4.45 18.00
AS MARIANA 4/1/2017 23.55 4/3/2017 0.00 24.05
COLOMBIAN STAR 4/3/2017 13:12 4/4/2017 13.45 12.33
COSCO NAGOYA 4/5/2017 23.30 4/7/2017 1.45 25.15
GRANDE CAMEPOON 4/6/2017 22.48 4/8/2017 2.28 28.00
BOMAR RESOLUTE 4/8/2017 10:48 4/9/2017 16.55 6.07
CARIBEAN STAR 4/12/2017 12:00 4/12/2017 23.45 11.45
AS MAGNOLIA 4/14/2017 9:00 4/15/2017 3.35 18.35
CHOPIN 4/16/2017 2:00 4/17/2017 10.00 8.00
COSTARICAN STAR 4/17/2017 17.45 4/18/2017 0.50 7.50

Avg waiting time

16.39
Source: Field study

4.4.3 Analysis on Service Time

Table 4.7 presents statistics on the time taken to unload a container from the vessel per berth. It

also gives a description of allocated berths, crane used to handle the vessels, the date unloading

commenced, finish date, as well as start time and finish time. The service average service time of

ach vessel is presented as the average time. Service time of a berth is simply the time unloading

and carried out on the vessel, this study focuses on the service time of the unloading process. It

should be noted that service time starts from the point the crane picks its first container, to the time

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it drops the last container. Table 4.8 presents the total service time (in hours) of unloading cargo,

it also calculates the average service time of the listed vessel, while table 4.9 converts the total

service hours into day, hours and minutes.

Table 4.7

Vessel name Container TEU's Allocated berth Crane Type Start Date Finish Date Start time Finish Time
CORCOVADO 554 1 Gantry 4/1/2017 4/2/2017 5.00 9.00
AS MARIANA 1902 1 Gantry 4/3/2017 4/4/2017 1.00 23.30
COLOMBIAN STAR 195 9 Geared Crane 4/4/2017 4/6/2017 16.30 1.00
COSCO NAGOYA 1372 2 Gantry 4/7/2017 4/8/2017 3.45 23.45
GRANDE CAMEPOON 358 13 Mobile 4/8/2017 4/9/2017 5.30 22.55
BOMAR RESOLUTE 625 2 Gantry 4/9/2017 4/11/2017 17.10 15.30
CARIBEAN STAR 131 9 Mobile 4/13/2017 4/14/2017 7.00 1.15
AS MAGNOLIA 1209 2 Gantry 4/15/2017 4/17/2017 4.45 0.05
CHOPIN 417 2 Gantry 4/17/2017 4/18/2017 10.45 12.57
COSTARICAN STAR 177 9 Geared Crane 4/18/2017 4/19/2017 5.45 13.55
Source: Field Study

Service Time
Table 4.8

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Service time
24.00
46.30
33.30
44.00
41.15
21.30
18.15
19.10
26.12
32.15

Average time 30.56

Table 4.9

Vessel name Days Hours Minutes

CORCOVADO 1 0 0
AS MARIANA 1 22 30
COLOMBIAN STAR 1 9 30
COSCO NAGOYA 1 20 0
GRANDE CAMEPOON 1 17 15
BOMAR RESOLUTE 0 21 30
CARIBEAN STAR 0 18 15
AS MAGNOLIA 0 19 10
CHOPIN 1 2 12
COSTARICAN STAR 1 8 15

Average service time

1 Day 6 Hour 56 Minutes
Source: Field Survey

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4.5 Analysis on Berth Output

The analysis on the berth output will be presented based on the 4 berth observed by the researcher.

According to UNCTAD (1965), berth output is measures the total tonnage of cargo handled at a

berth in stated period. Table 4.10 and 4.11 gives a statistical representation of various vessel name,

container handling berth as well as tonnage it handled. According to UNCTAD (1965), for ship

output to be calculated, the total tonnage handled per berth should be summed up, hence the

researcher summed up the total handled in accordance to UNCTAD specification thus getting the

total tonnage handled per berth. From table 4.11 it be seen that berth 2 handled more tonnage

amounting to 54660, berth 1 handled 33077, berth 9 11042 and berth 13 3327 tons respectively.

Table 4.10

Vessel name Berth Tonnage

CORCOVADO 1 5499
AS MARIANA 1 27578
COLOMBIAN STAR 9 3950
COSCO NAGOYA 2 18442
GRANDE CAMEPOON 13 3327
BOMAR RESOLUTE 2 8426
CARIBEAN STAR 9 3532
AS MAGNOLIA 2 22675
CHOPIN 2 5117
COSTARICAN STAR 9 3560

Table 4.11
Berth 1 Berth 2 Berth 9 Berth 13
Handled Tonnage 33077 54660 11042 3327

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Source: Field survey

4.4.5 Berth Throughput

Table 4.12
Berth 1 Berth 2 Berth 9 Berth 13
Ship to Quay 33077 54500 11042 3327
Via Barge 0 160 0 0
Shifted Cargo 750 1400 2000 57

Sum Throughput 33827 56060 13042 3384

Berth Throughput 106313

Source: Field Survey

Ship Output

Total tonnage handled ÷ Total hours worked = Tonnes/ship working hour (UNCTAD 1975)

Table 4.13
Berth 1 Berth 2 Berth 9 Berth 13
Total Service time 70.30 110.52 83.60 41.15

Sum Total 305.57

Source: Field survey
Berth 1 = 33827÷70.30 = 481.18 ton/hour

Berth 2 = 56060÷110.52 = 570.24 ton/hour

Berth 9 = 13042÷83.60 = 156.00 ton/hour

Berth 13 = 3384÷41.15 = 82.24 ton/hour

4.4.5Idle Time at Berth

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This table gives an analysis on the idle which is difference from the time the vessel is berthed

and the time it being serviced.

Vessel name Allocated berth Time at Berth Service Start time Idle time
CORCOVADO 1 4.45 5.00 0.15
AS MARIANA 1 0.00 1.00 1.00
COLOMBIAN STAR 9 13.45 16.30 3.15
COSCO NAGOYA 2 1.45 3.45 2.00
GRANDE CAMEPOON 13 2.28 5.30 3.02
BOMAR RESOLUTE 2 16.55 17.10 0.15
CARIBEAN STAR 9 23.45 7.00 7.15
AS MAGNOLIA 2 3.35 4.45 1.10
CHOPIN 2 10.00 10.45 0.45
COSTARICAN STAR 9 5.45 5.45 24.00

Allocated Berth Average idle time %

Berth 1 0.58 3.60%
Berth 2 0.93 5.80%
Berth 9 11.43 71.67%
Berth 13 3.02 18.93%

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Introduction

The previous chapter presented the analysis and findings revealed in the study. This concluding

chapter provides a summary of the research, summary of major findings, conclusion and

recommendation as deduced from the findings of the study.

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5.2 Summary of Findings

The study area was the Tema Port with the unit of analysis being Ship Agents and Vessel’s crew

at Tema Port. Tem Port offers two major services, thus service to Vessels and service to Goods.

This was limited to service to goods which is also referred to as cargo handling service. Thus, the

study assessed the effect of Cargo-handling performance on Vessel Turn-around time at the Port

with regards to the service to goods operations of the port. Specifically the study was focused to

achieve the following objectives: To analyze cargo-handling performance (containerized vesels),

in respect to service time, ship output, berth output and utilization. Review of existing data

indicated that the Port of Tema is the bigger of the two Ports in Ghana. It was opened to traffic in

1962. Cargo-handling operation of the port of Tema is guided by a legal framework, PNDC Law

160 which established Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GHPA) with specific statutory

functions which include; planning, management, maintenance, Operating and Control of ports in

Ghana. The study conceptualizes cargo-handling performance effect on vessel turn-around time a

well as perception of port users on cargo-handling procedures at the port as a process, subjectively,

objective, cumulative, statistical analysis (Gronroos, 2000) was adopted as the main theoretical

framework for the study. From the data that was gathered through the survey and interview, there

three specific objectives that was set for the study were achieved. the first one is customer

satisfaction, this is reflected to vessel’s crew and ship’s agent’s satisfaction. The second one is

waiting time, service time, idle time and output, and which reflect on container flow service time

which as a direct effect on vessel turn-around time. The study shows a significate time difference

between MPS terminal which is under concession agreement with the GPHA, and other GHPA

terminals. The combination of automated systems and skilled labour at MPS berths (1 and 2)

resulted in improvement in speed of task, removal of human errors and manual activity and

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improved quality of service as well as reduced cost. The second objective was to examine the

determinant of customer satisfaction. The findings established that customer satisfaction with

respect to provision of shore handling service (Receipt of goods, Storage of goods and Delivery

of goods) at port of Tema is quite above average. Finally, the study revealed that there exist a

strong positive correlation between cargo—handling operations and turn-around time at the port

of Tema. The research findings strongly suggest that continuous improvement in operational

efficiency over the years has led to delivery of quality services, dependability of services, and

increase in operational speed – in terms of average lead time offered to customers.

5.3 Conclusion

The findings on chapter four raise important issues that are elaborated and a precise

recommendations are made from the researcher’s findings analyzed. The research study show that

the vessel turn-around time is highly influenced by cargo-handling performance. It is studied from

the findings above, that there are three key factors to measure cargo-handling performance of

containers at the port; the first one is customer satisfaction, this is reflected to vessel’s crew and

ship’s agent’s satisfaction. The second one is waiting time, service time, idle time and output, and

which reflect on container flow service time which as a direct effect on vessel turn-around time.

The study shows a significate time difference between MPS terminal which is under concession

agreement with the GPHA,

“First it is important to the decision maker to accurately define to accurately define the benchmark

for operational performance and aim at achieving it. If it is to have more cargo’s, whether it is to

have greater efficiency and thus lower costs, making the port an element of support to the

competitiveness of companies in the region or whether wants to increase revenue” per ton. “The

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turn-around time of a port is a basic element to its performance”, but “in most cases it is a fact that

already exists and not easy to change, in this case only the government can decide to invest in more

ship-to-shore equipment to reduce” turn-around. Fast vessel and vessel turn round time due to

more and modern cargo handling equipment, Increase in ship traffic and ship size too and an

overall Improved port efficiency;

5.3 Recommendations

Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations are made;

1. It is “recommended that the Management of the Ports should ensure that full automation

of service delivery system is used in shore handling activities. This is to ensure that human

errors are reduced or eliminated and the delivery of service is at faster” rate. This

recommendation “is based on the finding that the few automation systems in place have

been efficient in the delivery of service to the satisfaction of” customers. As “such a full

implementation of automation systems in the Port will increase operational efficiency” at

the port.

2. Quay “cranes served as an essential elements of the transshipment of containers in the

container” terminals. It is therefore recommended that Ghana Port and Habour Authority

(GPHA), a state corporation clothed with the responsibility to “maintain, operate, improve

and regulate Tema Port considers continuous investments in modern quay cranes as well

as gantry cranes” to “supplement the current ones in order to continuously enhance

productivity, increase container inputs and throughput” respectively

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 3. It “is again recommended that a railway be constructed to link Port of Tema to other regions

with high cargo” demand. This “can result in operational efficiency thereby making Port

of Tema, the preferred choice to importers from the sub-Saharan” countries.

5.4 Further Research

Further research should be undertaken on the following areas: Container Cargo Handling Safety

Policy Implementation in Maritime Logistics and the Role Global Supply Chain plays in Container

Terminals Security. These areas have been identified for future research so as to contribute to the

academic debate in Maritime Logistics in Global Supply Chain.

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