Continuous-Time Scheduling of Berths and Onshore Power Supply in Cold-Chain Logistics: A Chance-Constrained Stochastic Programming Model and RL-ALNS Algorithm

Source abstract

Amid tightening emission rules and growing cold-chain demand, ports face complex multi-objective scheduling under dual uncertainties in vessel arrivals and operations. This work develops a multi-objective chance-constrained stochastic MILP model for joint berth, QC, and OPS scheduling. Heavy-tailed operational delays are managed via chance constraints, converting Weibull distributions to time buffers, while convex formulations allow piecewise cargo damage penalties to be computed linearly. A reinforcement learning-based adaptive large neighborhood search (RL-ALNS) algorithm is proposed to solve this NP-hard continuous-time problem, integrating a spatiotemporal decoder and an MDP-based selector to ensure microgrid limits and efficiency. Simulations demonstrate RL-ALNS’s superior Pareto convergence versus conventional heuristics. The model cuts the 95th-percentile tail risk by 46.59% and actual costs by 24.44% under mild delays, compared to deterministic scheduling. Overall, it quantifies the non-linear cost–emission–reliability trade-off, providing a robust tool for port decision-making.