Feeder Ship Size Optimization in Maritime Markets with Uncertainty

Abstract

This paper considers the ship size optimization problem for a liner shipping company that provides feeder service between one hub port and one feeder port. In the maritime market with uncertainty, this problem becomes more challenging. This research first analyzes the decision behaviors of the shipping company. Then, a stochastic dynamic programming method is proposed to calculate the expected total volume of containers transported within the planning horizon. Using the calculated volumes as input parameters calculate the profit of each ship sizes and then determine the suitable ship size for the feeder route. Numerical experiments are performed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method and the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.