Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a scheduling system and method .

Background of the Invention

Bulk material, such as iron ore, can be transported by ship between ports. Ships transporting the bulk material typically travel between the ports in the shortest time possible .

However, as there are a limited number of berths at a port, an arriving ship may have to drop anchor outside the port and await a berth. If a ship is required to wait longer than the time scheduled to load and/or unload at the port, then the cost of transporting the bulk material may be increased as an owner of the ship is typically entitled to compensation (referred to as demurrage) .

The term "bulk material" is understood herein to be any mined material that contains valuable material, such as valuable metals. Examples of valuable materials are valuable metals in minerals such as minerals that comprise metal oxides or metal sulphides. Specific examples of valuable materials that contain metal oxides are iron ores. Specific examples of valuable materials that contain metal sulphides are copper-containing ores. The term "bulk material" is understood herein to include metalliferous material and non-metalliferous material. Iron-containing and copper-containing ores are examples of metalliferous material. Coal is an example of a non- metalliferous material. The term "bulk material" is understood herein to include, but is not limited to, (a) run-of-mine material and (b) run-of-mine material that has been subjected to at least primary crushing or similar size reduction after the material has been mined and prior to being sorted. The term "bulk material" includes mined material that is in stockpiles. The term "bulk material" includes geological core samples. Summary of the Invention

In accordance with a first aspect of the present

invention, there is provided a method of scheduling a time for at least one ship that transports bulk material to arrive at a destination or unloading port, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving transit information in respect of a plurality of ships that are arranged for transporting bulk material, the transit information being indicative of, or being usable to derive, an estimated arrival time of each respective ship at a destination or unloading port;

based on the received transit information,

determining, for at least one ship, whether a berth at the destination or unloading port will be available for the at least one ship if the at least one ship arrives at the destination or unloading port at its estimated arrival time; and

if it is determined that a berth will not be

available for the at least one ship at its estimated arrival time, or after a predefined time period beyond the estimated arrival time:

determining updated transit information that is indicative of, or that can be used to determine, an updated arrival time for the at least one ship at the destination or unloading port such that a berth will be available for the at least one ship if the at least one ship arrives at the destination or

unloading port at its updated arrival time or prior to a predefined time period beyond its updated arrival time; and

communicating the updated transit information to the at least one ship such that the ship can use the updated transit information to arrive at the destination or unloading port at or near the updated arrival time.

At least one step of the method may be performed by a computing system. For example, the step of determining the updated transition information may be performed by a computing system.

The step of determining the updated transit information may comprise determining a speed or a speed profile at which the at least one ship can travel such that the at least one ship arrives at the destination or unloading port at the updated arrival time.

As the determined speed or speed profile will typically result in the at least one ship travelling at a reduced speed for at least a portion of its voyage, fuel savings can be achieved. Further, the at least one ship will not be incurring additional demurrage costs. The method may comprise determining berthing availability for each of the plurality of ships. Updated transit information may be determined for each ship for which a berth will not be available at its estimated arrival time, or after a predefined time period beyond its estimated arrival time.

In one embodiment, information that is indicative of a priority of each of the plurality of ships may be used in determining the updated transit information. For example, one of the plurality of ships may be required at the destination or unloading port at a particular time. Such information may be used in determining updated transit information. In one embodiment, the method comprising determining an order in which the plurality of ships are to arrive at the destination or unloading port. The order may take into consideration information that is indicative of a priority of each of the plurality of ships.

The bulk material may be iron ore, bauxite, or any other ore or bulk resource.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present

invention, there is provided a method of transporting a bulk material, the method comprising the steps of:

loading or unloading at least some bulk material at a departure or loading port onto or from at least one ship that is arranged for transporting bulk material; and

scheduling a time for the at least one ship to arrive at a destination or unloading port in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention.

The method may comprise the step of transporting bulk material to the departure or loading port for loading the at least one ship. The method may comprise the step of extracting the bulk material at a mine for transportation to the departure or loading port. In accordance with a third aspect of the present

invention, there is provided a scheduling system for scheduling a time for at least one ship that transports bulk material to arrive at a destination or unloading port, the scheduling system comprising:

an information receiving system arranged to receive transit information in respect of a plurality of ships that are arranged for transporting bulk material, the transit information being indicative of, or being usable to derive, an estimated arrival time of each respective ship at a destination or unloading port;

a berthing availability determination system arranged to use the received transit information to determine, for at least one ship, whether a berth at the destination or unloading port will be available for the at least one ship if the at least one ship arrives at the destination or unloading port at its estimated arrival time;

a rescheduling system arranged, if it is determined that a berth will not be available for the at least one ship at its estimated arrival time, or after a predefined time period beyond the estimated arrival time, to

determine updated transit information that is indicative of, or that can be used to determine, an updated arrival time for the at least one ship at the destination or unloading port such that a berth will be available for the at least one ship if the at least one ship arrives at the destination or unloading port at its updated arrival time or prior to a predefined time period beyond its updated arrival time; and a communications system arranged to communicate the updated transit information to the at least one ship such that the ship can use the updated transit information to arrive at the destination or unloading port at or near the updated arrival time.

In one embodiment, the rescheduling system is arranged to determine a speed or a speed profile at which the at least one ship can travel such that the at least one ship arrives at the destination or unloading port at the updated arrival time.

As the determined speed or speed profile will typically result in the at least one ship travelling at a reduced speed for at least a portion of its voyage, fuel savings can be achieved. Further, the at least one ship will not be incurring additional demurrage costs.

The berthing availability determination system may be arranged to determine berthing availability for each of the plurality of ships. The rescheduling system may be arranged to determine updated transit information for each ship for which a berth will not be available at its estimated arrival time, or after a predefined time period beyond its estimated arrival time.

The scheduling system may be arranged to use information that is indicative of a priority of each of the plurality of ships in determining the updated transit information. For example, one of the plurality of ships may be required at the destination or unloading port at a particular time, and this information may be used in determining updated transit information. In one embodiment, the scheduling system is arranged to determine an order in which the plurality of ships are to arrive at the destination or unloading port. The order may take into consideration information that is indicative of a priority of each of the plurality of ships.

The bulk material may be iron ore, bauxite, or any other ore or bulk resource. The invention will be more fully understood from the following description of specific embodiments of the invention. The description is provided with reference to the accompanying drawings . Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a flow chart of a method of scheduling a time for at least one ship that transports bulk material to arrive at an unloading port; Figure 2 is a block diagram of a scheduling system for scheduling a time for at least one ship that transports bulk material to arrive at an unloading port; and

Figure 3 is a block diagram of a computing system arranged to implement the scheduling system of Figure 2.

Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments

Figure 1 shows an example method 100 of scheduling a time for a plurality of ships 202, 204, 206 to arrive at a port. In this example the ships 202, 204, 206 are used to transport iron ore from a departure port to a destination port. It will be appreciated that the departure port may be a port at which a ship is loaded or unloaded with iron ore. In this particular example, ships are loaded with iron ore at the departure port and the departure port is referred to herein as a loading port 208. Similarly, it will be appreciated that the destination port may be a port at which a ship is loaded or unloaded with iron ore. In this particular example, iron ore is unloaded from ships at the destination port and the departure port is referred to herein as an unloading port 210. In this example, the iron ore is extracted at a mine and transported from the mine to the loading port 208, for example using a rail network. At the unloading port 210, the iron ore may be processed and/or stored for

transportation to a further port. Although the method 100 is described in relation to transporting iron ore, it will be appreciated that the method 100 may apply to the transport of any bulk material.

In a first step of the method 100, transit information in respect of a plurality of ships 202, 204, 206 is received 102 by a scheduling system 300. In this example, the scheduling system 300 is operated from a central office 302, which may be located remotely from the ports 208, 210. The transit information is indicative of, or is usable to derive, an estimated arrival time of each respective ship 202, 204, 206 at the unloading port 210.

The transit information may be communicated from any appropriate source. For example, the transit information may be communicated from the ships 202, 204, 206 based on a location and speed of the ships 202, 204, 206, or from one or both of the ports 208, 210 based on scheduled arrival and/or departure information of the ships 202, 204, 206.

In this example, the transit information is received by an information receiving system 304 of the scheduling system 300. The information receiving system 304 may be any appropriate system that can facilitate receiving

communications, and may comprise an electronic mail system and/or a telephone system.

In a second step, the received transit information is used to determine 104 whether a berth at the unloading port 210 will be available for the ships 202, 204, 206 if the ships 202, 204, 206 arrive at the unloading port 210 at their respective estimated arrival times. The determination of the availability of a berth is performed in this example by a berthing availability determination system 306.

The determination can be made by communicating with the unloading port 210 to determine whether berths will be available, for example if there have been delays from previously or currently berthed ships, or based on

projected berthing availability, for example if arrival information of all ships that are due at the unloading port 210 is known. Such communication may be facilitated by the information receiving system 304 of the scheduling system 300.

In the example shown in Figure 2, the first ship 202 is fully loaded with iron ore and, having already departed the loading port 208, is in transit to the unloading port 210. The second ship 204 is at the loading port 208 being loaded with iron before heading to the unloading port 210 The third ship 206 is in transit to the loading port 208 where it will be loaded with iron ore before heading to the unloading port 210. It will be appreciated that the above scenario is only being used as an example to

illustrate operation of the scheduling method 100 and system 300. The scheduling method 100 and system 300 can be used for any appropriate scenario wherein ships are used to transport bulk material between ports. In this example, it is determined that the first ship 202 will have a berth available at the unloading port 210 if the first ship 202 arrives at its estimated arrival time. It is also determined that the second ship 204 will not have a berth available at the unloading port 210 if the second ship 204 arrives at its estimated arrival time.

However, a berth will be available within 2 hours of its estimated arrival time.

It is also determined that the third ship 206 will not have a berth available at the unloading port 210 if the third ship 206 arrives at its estimated arrival time. It is determined that a berth will be available for the third ship 206 within 9 hours after its estimated arrival time. If it is determined that a berth will not be available for any of the ships 202, 204, 206 at its estimated arrival time, or after a predefined time period beyond its estimated arrival time, then updated transit information is determined 106 for that ship 202, 204, 206. The updated transit information is indicative of, or can be used to determine, an updated arrival time for any of the ships 202, 204, 206 at the unloading port 210. The updated arrival time is such that a berth will be available if the ship 202, 204, 206 arrives at the unloading port 210 at its updated arrival time or after a predefined time period beyond its updated arrival time. In the above example, the predefined time period beyond an estimated arrival time at which the updated transit information is to be determined 106 is 8½ hours.

Therefore, as the first ship 202 will have a berth

available when it arrives at the unloading port 210, and the second ship 204 will have a berth available within 2 hours of arriving at the unloading port 210, updated transit information is not determined for the first and second ships 202, 204. In contrast, a berth will not be available for the third ship 206 for 9 hours after the third ship 206 is initially scheduled to arrive at the unloading port 210. Updated transit information is therefore determined 106 for the third ship 206.

The updated transit information is determined by a rescheduling system 308 which, in this example, is implemented using a computing system.

In this example, the updated transit information is determined such that the updated arrival time of the third ship 206 is 9 hours after its estimated arrival time. By arriving at the updated arrival time, a berth will be available for the third ship 206.

The updated transit information is communicated 108 to the third ship 206 such that the third ship 206 can use the updated transit information to arrive at the unloading port 210 at or near the updated arrival time. The updated transit information is communicated from the central office 302 using an information transmitting system 310. The updated transit information can be received by a communication system of the third ship 206. After receiving the updated transit information, the third ship 206 can alter its speed such that the third ship 206 arrives at the unloading port 210 at or near the updated arrival time. Typically, the third ship 206 will slow down such that an amount of fuel used by the ship is reduced. This reduction in fuel reduces the cost of transporting the iron ore and has other advantages. For example, these fuel savings will also have significant environmental benefits, primarily through the reduction of carbon emissions, but also allowing ships to carry less fuel, which may be beneficial if ships transit through or near sensitive environmental areas, for example the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The reduction in costs as a result in fuel savings can be shared between the ship owner and the charterer.

Further, as a result of using the method 100, ships do not have to be anchored out at a port waiting for a berth, thereby making the port safer overall if a change in weather conditions occurs, such as a cyclone event.

The third ship 206 will typically select a speed, or a speed profile, that aims to reduce the RPM of the ship's main engine to optimise fuel consumption. In the context of this specification, a speed profile is taken to mean a range of speeds that the ship may travel at over the duration of its voyage, while still arriving at the port 210 at the updated arrival time. Further, the third ship 206 may not be incurring

additional demurrage costs as it will not be at anchor outside the unloading port 210 for excessive periods of time while waiting for a free berth.

Information that is communicated to the third ship 206 may also comprise information that is indicative of expected fuel savings . It will be appreciated that the step of determining 106 the updated transit information may comprise determining a speed or a speed profile at which the third ship 206 can travel such that it arrives at the unloading port 210 at the updated arrival time.

In the above example, the information receiving system 304 and the information transmitting system 310 are receiving and transmitting components of a communications system 312.

In this example, information that is communicated between the communications system 312, the ports 208, 210 and the ships 206, 208, 210 is communicated over a communications network 314. The communications network 314 may be any appropriate communications network 314 and can typically facilitate communication over the internet, including email, voice over IP and other electronic messaging services, and telephone communication. It will be

appreciated that the communications network 314 may facilitate communications that utilise satellite based telephone and internet services, or any appropriate communication system that facilitates communicating with ships that may be out of range of terrestrial based communication systems.

In determining the updated transit information for a ship, it will be appreciated that other information may be taken into account. For example, information that is indicative of a priority of a ship could be used by the scheduling system 300 in determining the updated transit information. For example, one of the ships may be required at the unloading port 210 at a particular time, and this

information may be used in determining updated transit information. Further, an order in which the ships 202, 204, 206 are to arrive at the unloading port 210 may be determined. Such a determination can also be performed by the scheduling system 300, and may take into consideration the information that is indicative of a priority of each of the ships 202, 204, 206.

Components of the scheduling system 300 may be implemented as software and/or hardware modules of a computing system. An example of such a computing system 400 will now be described with reference to Figure 3.

The computing system 400 comprises a processing system 402, the processing system being in communication with a memory 404. The memory 404 can store software that is appropriate for conducting at least some steps of the method 100. For example, in addition to operating system software, the memory 404 may store scheduling software or other software that can facilitate the steps of

determining 104 whether a berth at the unloading port 210 will be available for any of the ships 202, 204, 206 and of determining updated transit information for a ship 202, 204, 206 that will not have an available berth. The memory 404 also comprises a database 406, the database comprising information that may be obtained in performing the method 100, or that can be used in the method 100. For example, information that is indicative of the estimated arrival times, updated arrival times, ship priorities, port berthing information and any other appropriate information may be stored in the database 406. Such information and can be accessed by the processor 402 and appropriate software running on the computing system 400 to conduct, for example, at least some of the steps of method 100.

Information can be input by a user of the computing system 400 using appropriate input devices such as a mouse 408 and keyboard 410, and information can be displayed to the user, including updated transit information that may be determined by the computing system 400, via a display device 412. The computing system 400 may also be arranged to implement functions of the communications system 312, and may comprise internet and telephone communications modules that are arranged to operate in accordance with

instructions received by the processor 402.

In the claims which follow and in the preceding

description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.