Recently, pressure on port authorities to improve port efficiency is increasing due to port competitiveness. Multiple activities within a port influence the efficiency of a port. In this research, the processes of the 'nautical chain' are considered. The nautical chain consists of piloting by a pilot, positioning by tugboats and (un)mooring by boatmen. The provided services are dependent on each other, which makes information sharing between the actors of the nautical chain essential. Enhancing information sharing in the nautical chain could provide opportunities for efficiency improvements. However, current literature does not provide any details on information sharing in the nautical chain. Consequently, it is unknown what parts of the information sharing might be crucial to focus on for improving its efficiency. This research aims to fill this gap, by researching the information that is shared in the nautical chain of the Port of Rotterdam in the delays that frequently occur through expert interviews and observations. The information that is shared in the frequent delay situations is considered critical for efficiency improvements, because the shared information contributes to decisions that reduce the cascade effect of a delay trigger. Following from the identified information sharing in the frequent delays, the areas of critical information sharing are distinguished.

With the development of market globalization, the demand for an efficient and safe nautical chain in the deep-sea port increases. The complexity of nautical service network boosts the request from port authority to ask for a state-of-the-art simulation model that can improve the performance of nautical chain in the port level. The research aims to build the first version of simulation model on
mimicking the ship handling activities of nautical chain in the deep-sea port. In this research, the processes of structuring a conceptual model of the system is given, and the way to develop the simulation is described. A sensitivity analysis has been conducted to examine the potential consequences resulting from disruptions or changed input.