Abstract. In this paper, the optimization of the Berth Allocation Problem (BAP) is transformed into a multiple stage decision making procedure and a new stochastic beam search algorithm is proposed to solve it. New techniques such as a new beam search scheme, a two-phase node goodness estimation, and a stochastic node selection criteria are proposed. Real-life information in Singapore Port was collected as our test data. Experimental results show that the proposed stochastic beam search is more accurate and efficient than both the state-of-the-art metaheuristic and the traditional determinist beam search.