Management and infrastructures in a maritime coal terminal. A decision-making methodology

The objective of this paper is to analyse the operational cycles of a coal terminal to identify development scenarios, conditioned by meteo-marine conditions, layout and equipment with the aim to reduce operational times. The scenarios include the construction of an offshore breakwater limiting the wave motion in the operational area, the extension of operational quays allowing the simultaneous handling of more ships, the building of multiple stocking areas to increase the stock capacity. This paper deals with technical analysis of operational schemes based on local constraining infrastructural and meteo-marine conditions as well as global effects of coal shipping delivery organisation. The method provides the useful elements to condition the key choices, both for investment prioritization and for the terminal management itself. The test is on the case study of a coal terminal feeding an electrical power plant nearby the port of Civitavecchia, Italy.