An Integrated Methodology for the Design of Ro-Ro Passenger Ships

Abstract

The present paper provides a brief introduction to the holistic approach to ship design, defines the generic ship design optimization problem and demonstrates its solution by use of advanced optimization techniques. A set of software tools for the parametric design and evaluation of ROPAX vessels has been developed and linked to a multi-objective optimization software, to form an integrated ship-design methodology, facilitating the design space exploration and selection of optimal designs in a rational and efficient way, Zaraphonitis et al. (2007). The present paper focuses on the optimization of design of conventional ROPAX vessels. For an application to high-speed, twin hull vessels, see Skoupas et al. (2009).