An optimization tool for ship route planning in real weather scenarios

Rough weather conditions can significantly affect the ship's operational capabilities, in terms of energy efficiency, safety, and comfort on board. With the aim to improve both the ship energy efficiency and the operability, the authors developed a voyage optimization methodology based on real weather forecast maps. This paper presents an overview of the different aspects of the voyage optimization, focusing on the operational implications of the developed method. The routing problem is parameterized in a discrete space-time domain, and the minimum fuel consumption routing solution is selected by means of a dynamic programming optimization algorithm, in compliance with the existing geographical, propulsive and operability constraints. Ship seakeeping and propulsion system is modelled to realistically estimate the propulsion performances and fuel consumption, as well as a number of ship motions-related operability indices, associated with a given sea state and wind condition. Eventually, a case study is shown, and a number of simulations in different operating scenarios are critically discussed.