On improving containership stowage planning from the perspective of an entire voyage

A central planner plays a significant role in the stowage planning of container transportation. This paper discusses how a central planner produces stowage plans for a container vessel, through its entire voyage, while considering factors such as vessel specifications, characteristics of service lane, operational constraints at each terminal, schedule management, control of vessel space, and vessel seaworthiness. Although many studies on stowage planning of containerships at one port have been published, few have focused on stowage planning in multiport itineraries, i.e., from the entire voyage perspective. In this study, therefore, three stowage plans, each focusing on the optimization of a single port, are used to show how a central planner improves cargo stowage rate by instead using the entire voyage. We target three improvements: (1) Reducing ballast water carried, among others, reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions; (2) Increasing TEU stowage allowance, and reducing ballast water carried while solving draft limitation and seaworthiness problems simultaneously; and (3) Increasing the capacity utilization of a vessel. The overall aim of this study is how to increase freight revenue through higher vessel capacity utilization; reduce ballast water carried; fuel consumption, and atmospheric emissions, considering both the seaworthiness of the vessel and the efficiency of terminal operations. The case study method has been applied. The results indicate that modified stowage plans, considering the entire voyage, can improve vessel capacity utilization, seaworthiness requirements and, apparently, profitability.