The Planning Supervisor is responsible for supervising and coordinating vessel, yard, berth, and equipment planning activities within the container terminal. The role ensures that operational plans are safe, practical, system-ready, and optimized to support vessel schedules, yard capacity, customer requirements, and available resources. The Planning Supervisor leads the planning team, validates plans before execution, monitors live operations, and coordinates timely plan adjustments to minimize delays, rehandles, congestion, and operational conflicts while achieving terminal productivity and service targets.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Planning Leadership & Control

• Lead and supervise vessel, yard, berth, and resource planning activities for container terminal operations.
• Ensure operational plans are safe, practical, optimized, and aligned with vessel schedules, yard capacity, equipment availability, and customer commitments.
• Review and approve vessel working plans, yard strategies, crane allocations, and resource requirements before execution.
• Monitor plan execution and coordinate timely adjustments to minimize operational delays and conflicts.

Vessel & Berth Planning

• Coordinate receipt and validation of BAPLIE, MOVINS, discharge/load lists, dangerous goods information, reefer lists, and special cargo requirements.
• Prepare and review vessel stowage, crane split, hatch sequence, restow, and work-program plans in coordination with shipping lines and vessel representatives.
• Assess berth requirements, crane outreach, air draft, mooring position, tidal restrictions, and operational readiness.
• Ensure final plans support safe vessel operations, optimum crane utilization, and achievement of target productivity.

Yard & Equipment Planning

• Develop yard allocation strategies for import, export, transshipment, empty, reefer, OOG, dangerous goods, and special cargo.
• Monitor yard density, housekeeping, rehandles, segregation, and equipment travel distances to maintain efficient cargo flow.
• Plan deployment of STS, RTG, reach stackers, terminal tractors, and support equipment based on operational demand.
• Coordinate with Engineering and Operations on equipment availability, breakdowns, maintenance windows, and contingency plans.

Systems, Data & Documentation

• Ensure accurate planning data and operational instructions are maintained in the Terminal Operating System, including Navis N4 or equivalent.
• Validate vessel profiles, yard blocks, equipment configurations, service schedules, and planning parameters.
• Ensure timely issuance of operational plans, reports, work instructions, and planning handovers.
• Investigate planning errors, data discrepancies, and exceptions and ensure corrective actions are implemented.

People & Stakeholder Coordination

• Supervise, guide, and develop vessel planners, yard planners, and equipment controllers.
• Coordinate closely with Shift Managers, supervisors, gate, Engineering, HSSE, IT, shipping lines, agents, and Port Authority.
• Conduct planning meetings and communicate constraints, priorities, risks, and contingency requirements to all concerned parties.
• Ensure effective shift handover and continuity between planning and execution teams.

Safety, Performance & Improvement

• Ensure all plans comply with HSSE, ISPS, dangerous goods, reefer, OOG, and terminal operating requirements.
• Monitor planning KPIs, including berth productivity, crane intensity, yard utilization, rehandle ratio, plan accuracy, and vessel turnaround time.
• Identify opportunities to improve planning processes, system utilization, resource productivity, and cost efficiency.
• Support implementation, testing, and continuous improvement of terminal systems and operational procedures.

Key Performance Indicators

• Vessel plan readiness and release within agreed timelines.
• Berth and crane plan accuracy versus actual execution.
• Yard utilization, rehandle ratio, and average equipment travel distance.
• Vessel turnaround time and crane productivity achieved versus target.
• Percentage of planning changes caused by avoidable errors or data omissions.
• Accuracy and timeliness of planning reports, instructions, and shift handovers.
• Planning-related safety incidents, cargo damage, delays, or customer complaints.

Desired Candidate Profile

• Bachelors degree or diploma in Logistics, Maritime Studies, Port Management, Supply Chain, or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in container terminal planning or operations, including vessel and yard planning exposure, Navis N4 XPS is mandatory.
• Practical knowledge of vessel stowage, crane sequencing, berth planning, yard strategy, and container segregation requirements.
• Strong working knowledge of Terminal Operating Systems, preferably Navis N4, including vessel, yard, and equipment planning modules.
• Good knowledge of BAPLIE, MOVINS, COPRAR, CODECO, COARRI, and other terminal/EDI messages.
• Understanding of container handling equipment, reefer operations, dangerous goods, OOG cargo, and terminal safety requirements.
• Proven supervisory, analytical, decision-making, and problem-solving capabilities.
• Advanced proficiency in MS Excel and good report-writing and presentation skills.
• Ability to manage multiple vessel and yard priorities in a time-sensitive operational environment.
• Flexibility to work shifts, weekends, public holidays, and on-call as required by vessel operations.