Abstract
The potential growth found inthe short sea shipping sector motivated the development of a methodology usedas a decision support tool in which both the parameters regarding the demand ofmarkets and the characteristics of the fleet may be tested for its evaluation.It is also possible to determine the fleet deployment, establishing its routesand scales in the ports for a particular scenario. The considered methodologymay be divided in two parts, being the first one related with the generation ofall feasible routes, alongside all the parameters specific to each route foreach vessel class. The second part is the introduction of a linear programmingmodel that maximizes the shipping operation’s total profit, according a givenset of restrictions. The models were structured according to three main criteria:the evaluation of the fleet for each vessel’s class; the optimal route for eachvessel and the frequency in each port. To provide the methodology’s validation,the developed models shall be submitted to a fictitious operational scenario,considering three different situations: the fleet’s normal operation; aparametric variation of required demand for the same fleet composition; anevaluation of several fleet compositions for the same demand level.
Highlights
The need for container ship owners to size their fleet in order to meet a required demand level motivated the development of a methodology sustained by a decision support tool, in which the parameters associated with the demand for goods in different markets and fleet characteristics can be tested.By definition, “Fleet Sizing” is the activity of quantifying the number and type of vehicles that will be used in a transport operation once set on a specific market.Subsequently, there is the problem of quantifying the fleet properties, affected by factors such as the size of operation, the internal capacity of the company, the jurisdiction of the sector, the availability of return cargo or the logistic model to be used
The growth in the short sea shipping sector motivated the development of a methodology used as a decision support tool in which both the parameters regarding the demand of markets and the characteristics of the fleet may be tested and appraised
The considered methodology is divided into two parts, the first being the one related to the generation of all feasible routes, with all the parameters specific to each route for each vessel class
Summary
The need for container ship owners to size their fleet in order to meet a required demand level motivated the development of a methodology sustained by a decision support tool, in which the parameters associated with the demand for goods in different markets and fleet characteristics can be tested (for example, the assignment of routes, port calls, vessels specifications or loading plans). The authors established the fleet size, but its assignment as well, considering the minimum level of service to be fulfilled for a given demand, network and cost parameters This structure shows a relationship between the various components, where the demand is met and the requests for transportation are determined according to the shipment prominence or priority. Along with this review the author discusses the need for integration decisions which are taken at strategic and operational levels These two concepts directed the current bibliographic review, in hoping to find models that assess the use of the fleet in a refined manner, but were able to perform the correct fleet sizing and employment to meet the objectives of the operation on a constrained environment. The following sections elaborate on all of the main particulars of the developed model describing the main concepts and structure (Section 2), the detailed explanation of the model components (Sections 3 and 4), model validation considering parametric variations of several input parameters (Sections 5, 6 and 7) and final conclusions
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