Optimal Use of Container Ships for Servicing Among Small Ports

Abstract

Transportation of containers, in areas which are not interesting for large shipping operators, can pose a problem for ship cargo officer due to limited logistical assistance from ashore. In such cases, all calculations and planning have to be done on board the ship. Transportation between secondary ports to other-final ports, e.g. for servicing ports in island region, can be done by independent carriers which operate small container ships without proper logistical assistance. The efficient algorithm for optimal transport of N contingents of containers, for ship with limited capacity on the route with M ports, is being considered. The proposed algorithm has acceptable complexity and such optimization tool can be used efficiently in limited shipping surrounding. But crucial condition is well educated cargo officer, to be skilled about such management and planning tool.

Keywords

• non-linear transportation problem
• multi-destination routing problem
• capacity management of container ships