Liner fleet deployment and empty container repositioning under demand uncertainty: A robust optimization approach

Abstract

This paper investigates a robust optimization problem concerning the integration of fleet deployment and empty container repositioning in a shipping line network, where a fleet of vessels is dispatched to transport both laden and empty containers, aiming to fulfill a predetermined set of requests over a defined time horizon. The sizes of customer demands are uncertain and are characterized by a budgeted uncertainty set. This study aims to ascertain the vessel types assigned to each shipping route, the routing of laden containers, and the repositioning of empty containers in a manner that minimizes the total cost. Simultaneously, it ensures the feasibility of all transportation plans for any realization of demand within the uncertainty set. We introduce a path-based two-stage robust formulation for addressing the problem. In the first stage, the assignment of vessel types to each shipping route is determined, and the second stage focuses on establishing the routing of laden containers and repositioning of empty containers under a worst-case scenario. We propose the Column-and-Constraint Generation algorithm for solving the proposed robust formulation. To address large-scale size instances, we propose an acceleration technique, i.e., the piece-wise affine policy, which reduces the dimensions of the uncertainty set while maintaining a bounded compromise in solution quality. Comprehensive numerical experiments derived from real-world industries, such as the Shanghai port and CMA CGM, are conducted to validate the proposed formulation and solution methodologies.