A New Approach to Vessel Weather Routing and Performance Analysis

Abstract

The concept of ship weather routing has long held forth the promise of improved efficiency and more economical operation of ships at sea. A new approach to ship weather routing has recently culminated in the development of an algorithm which combines presently available technologies in the areas of weather and wave forecasting with vessel seakeeping and speedkeeping, in conjunction with a comprehensive vessel operating cost model. The resulting model, when solved by a dynamic programming technique, will identify the optimum vessel routing consistent with prevailing weather and operational constraints, as well as related economic factors. The application of the Optimal Ship Routing Algorithm in the analysis of several actual vessel routings is described. Actual vessel performance and projected voyage costs, for ships sailing with and without weather routine advisories, are compared with those expected along the route selected by the Optimal Ship Routing Algorithm and also with the route selected by commercial weather routing services. The potential for substantial improvements in on-time performance and reductions in cost is amply demonstrated, for operations in both moderate and severe weather conditions. In addition, the algorithm can be used for post-voyage performance evaluation, vessel operability analyses, and preparation of vessel performance data for scheduling decisions.