The Port of Leixões is located in the northwest coast of Portugal. Its oil terminal has one berth that is somewhat exposed to rough environmental conditions and has some operational problems. In order to improve operational and security conditions at that berth (Berth “A”), the Port Authority has commissioned several studies along the years that have analyzed downtime problems through different perspectives, and proposed several intervention alternatives. Problems are now less frequent than in the past; nevertheless there is still room for further improvement of the present conditions. An R&D project started in 2008 with the aim of clarifying the contribution of some identified critical issues to the downtime of Berth “A” and analyzing the efficacy of some interventions proposed in preceding studies. The Project includes the use of physical modelling, numerical simulations and prototype measurements, all integrated in a complementary way. The paper focuses in the physical modelling component that was carried out on a geometric scale of 1/100, and included the construction of two models: the first one corresponding to a simplified reproduction of the berth and its surroundings, and the second one corresponding to a more detailed representation of the prototype’s characteristics. Based on the physical model results, it was concluded that increasing breast lines’ pretension effectively reduces the moored ship motions while a slight modification of the mooring layout has only a negligible influence in the moored ship response. Water depth was identified as an important factor controlling the behaviour of the moored ship.