Using AHP & TOPSIS methods in choosing the best tugboat’s type for berthing oil tankers

Handling the oil tankers safely in oil terminals is a big challenge for terminal authorities due to such vessels sizes and weights as well as tolimited sea room near jetties. This duty is carried out by the aid of expert pilots and tugboats. There are different types of tugboats with different specifications. Terminal managers face different main andsecondary features in each type of boats. Different features have different degree of importance. Given this diversity, the decision toochose the best type is a complex task. Using the existing tools of management, makes this decision making much easier. By the aid ofmanagement models, this study tries to help the oil terminals’ authorities in choosing the most suitable tugboat’s type in relation totheir characteristics and their expected duties. Such a decision is a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problem. This paper suggestsboth analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method to priorities 4 types of tugboats in accordance to 4 criteria and 6 sub-criteria.

Keywords:

TOPSIS , AHP , Choosing tugboat , Oil tankers