Modeling and simulation techniques for maritime security

Generalized techniques for modeling and simulating maritime security measures at cargo seaports are presented. The security problem is first partitioned into proactive and reactive approaches. Proactive approaches attempt to avoid disruptive events through security measures such as cargo inspection. Reactive approaches react to disruptive events, including cleanup and operational recovery. Two modeling techniques, programmatic process flows and programmatic events are presented and applied to the Port Simulation Model (PORTSIM). Programmatic process flows support rapid development of alternative processes for modeling port activities, allowing easy introduction of new processes such as container inspections. Programmatic events support injecting the behavior of disruptive events by modifying available port infrastructure, resources, and process times to reflect the result of an event and the recovery process. The application of these approaches is demonstrated using PORTSIM applied to two hypothetical studies. First, a proactive study is presented studying the operational and economic impact of various levels of container inspection. Second, a reactive study is presented evaluating the relative impact of a disruption to berthing and staging activities.