A Branch and Cut algorithm for the Restricted Block Relocation Problem

We consider the Block Relocation Problem, that has a crucial role in the logistics of containers. It consists of minimizing the number of container relocations within a container bay/yard. Since the number of containers shipped worldwide grew dramatically in the last years, the problem has been widely investigated. Here we propose an exact algorithm for the restricted version of the Block Relocation Problem, based on a new integer linear programming formulation. We compare such new approach with the state-of-art exact methods. The computational results prove its effectiveness and show that it outperforms all the previously proposed procedures, in almost all the considered instances.