Optimizing Containership Size and Speed: Model Formulation and Implementation

Abstract:- One of the most important decisions for shipowners is to determine how big a containership to order. The optimal containership problem represents a trade-off between the cost and revenue resulting from size and speed. In reality, there is a tendency toward increasing containership size and speed, which is resulted from some factors related to profit. However, most of the past studies devoted their attention to the problem from the cost perspective. These models omitted the effect of ship speed on profit, and might result in inadequate solutions to the problem. Based on the cost-volume-profit analysis, a nonlinear programming model is formulated to approach the problem. The objective function is a strictly concave function with a globally unique optimal. An example of the Trans-Pacific Route is employed to test the model’s formulation. The results provide shipowners with a beneficial reference for planning deployment and routing of big containerships. Key-Words:- Optimal containership; nonlinear programming; ship speed; concave function