Optimization Schemes for Rational, Computer-Aided Fleet Deployment. Volume 1. Executive Summary

摘要

The problem of minimum cost operation of a fleet of ships that has to carry a specific amount of cargo between two ports in a given time period for a specific, fixed contract price is studied. Detailed and realistic operating cost functions are developed. Sensitivity analyses are performed to study the effects of small or large changes of one or more cost components on the total cost. A realistic model for the annual transport capacity as a function of speed is also used, in contrast to the linear relation used in the literature. The full load and ballast speeds for those ships of the fleet that the authors operate are selected to minimize the total fleet operating costs (including lay-up costs for unused vessels), using nonlinear optimization algorithms. The above problem but with time-varying cost components is also formulated and solved. A probabilistic analysis, for the case in which the most important cost components are random variables with known probability distribution functions, is also presented.