Analysis of 3,594 vessel movements | 789 unique vessels | Q1 2025
1. Fix a Data Quality Bug Four records contain impossible timestamps (pilot departure before pilot arrival). Estimated fix time: < 1 hour. Impact: cleaner data going forward.
2. Pre-Assign Pilots to Busy Routes Ultra-large vessels require a second pilot 31% of the time on just 4 routes. Pre-assignment could reduce wait times by 8-12 hours per shipment.
3. Staff Around the Clock Demand Nearly half of vessel movements occur at night (18:00-06:00), but current pilot shifts operate 9-to-5. Aligning shifts to actual demand patterns could eliminate bottlenecks.
Bottom Line: These three changes could save ~4,300 pilot-hours annually (≈ $320K).
| Metric | Finding |
|---|---|
| Average Pilot Time | 4.6 hours per vessel |
| Busiest Location | Brotchie (687 arrivals, but 36% slower than average) |
| Peak Hour | 23:00 - handles 9% of daily traffic |
| Largest Vessels | 31.4% need backup pilots (vs 2% for medium vessels) |
| Cargo Capacity | 247M DWT moved (57% from bulk carriers) |
- Pre-assign senior pilots to 4 high-complexity routes → saves 2-3 hours per movement
- Investigate Brotchie slowdown → could save 412 hours/quarter if fixed
- Move to 24/7 staffing → eliminate night-hour bottlenecks
- Add validation rule: Stop "Debark before Order" timestamps → prevents bad data
- Build a pilot dashboard: Real-time availability + complexity scoring
- Set up outlier alerts: Flag unusual durations automatically
- Forecast seasonal demand: March was up 16% vs February
- Test pre-assign ROI: Estimated $120K+ annual savings
- Right-size staffing: Use actual demand patterns, not assumptions
- 3,594 vessel movements in 90 days
- 789 different vessels (most visit just 1-2 times)
- Top 3 vessels account for 2.9% of all movements (highly concentrated traffic)
- 1,083 unique routes but top 50 routes handle 62% of traffic
| Issue | Impact | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| 4 timestamps impossible (pilot left before arriving) | Skews duration stats | Add database validation |
Detailed analysis, code samples, statistical methodology, and validation tests are in PROJECT_SUMMARY.md.
├── README.md # This (quick overview)
├── PROJECT_SUMMARY.md # Full technical analysis & code
├── analysis.ipynb # Interactive notebook
├── data/
│ └── 2025 Q1 All Assignments.xlsx
└── requirements.txt
Quantified findings based on Pacific Pilotage Authority Q1 2025 vessel movement data. All analysis is reproducible.