Refrigerated container versus bulk: evidence from the banana cold chain

During the last 20 years, the reefer shipping sector has been characterised by a gradual changing process, leading from specialised vessels to reefer containers. In fact, the reefer bulk fleet has experienced an irreversible decline, while the reefer container fleet has shown a continuous growth. This article investigates the current major factors shaping the reefer shipping industry, in order to understand the economic drivers inducing competition between bulk and containers. Therefore, a twofold analysis has been performed. First, an overview of the reefer market, including the cold chain, the demand for refrigerated products and the supply of reefer capacity given both by containership fleet and by conventional reefer fleet. Second, a specific case of the banana trade has been carried out for evaluating the revenues of each player involved in the banana cold chain followed by a cost analysis. The results reveal the market tendencies, focusing on the main sources of competition for bulk versus container.     

A slot reallocation model for containership schedule adjustment

Ship slot capacity is the main sale resource of container shipping lines. However, shipping lines often encounter situations, such as serious ship delays, that require adjustments of shipping schedules, causing the original delivery plans of some consignments to be altered. This study proposes an integer programming model for slot reallocation planning, based on a given adjusted schedule. Decisions regarding empty container repositioning are also examined. This model aims to maximise a company’s benefits from deliveries of consignments and movements of empty containers. Available slots are subject to port rotation changes, allowable port handlings and ship capacity. A case study of a deep ocean loop demonstrates optimal slot reallocation, and empty container repositioning is used for illustrative purposes. The reallocation characteristics due to benefit items and the model’s applicability to large-scale examples are discussed.     

一种船用冷藏集装箱集群测控方法的系统设计

提出一种适用于集装箱船的冷藏集装箱集群测控方法。通过对冷藏集装箱单箱、冷藏集装箱集群和集装箱船舶的现状进行分析,研究设计一套基于硬件的船舶冷藏集装箱集群的测控系统,包括改良的蓝牙BLE5.0通信协议、系统通信数据字典、支持串口自供电的无线箱体模块、无线通信微基站和配置终端。开发完成产业化的成套产品,进行液化天然气(LNG)双燃料集装箱船的实船试验。在串口自供电设计方面,采用TxD双极性整流、电荷泵极性转换和双级电源供电,解决在取电电流仅为4 mA、使用时可供的脉冲电流高达18 mA的特种串口自供电电源的设计问题;在集装箱通信设计方面,实现不同品牌的冷藏集装箱的串口通信协议在会话层的嗅探解析;在冷藏箱集群的用电控制设计方面,为实现错峰供电,通过底层协议的控制,减少船舶电站容量,降低电站电流峰值。     

集装箱船冷藏集装箱水冷却系统设计

支线型集装箱船在布置数量较多的水冷式冷藏集装箱情况下,如何保证冷藏集装箱水冷却流量平衡分配并确保冷藏集装箱冷藏效果成为设计的关键点。文章结合某2200标准箱集装箱船实例,介绍了冷藏集装箱船的水冷却系统的设计、注意事项及试验方法。为今后大中型集装箱船冷藏箱冷却水系统应用提供设计依据。     

基于RFID的冷藏集装箱远洋运输远程监控研究

本研究采用射频识别（Radio Frequency Identification）技术，开发一套远程监控系统，并利用组太王软件开发了大型冷藏集装箱船监控界面，对700-1000个冷藏集装箱的热工状态和制冷机运行状况进行无线监控。研究结果表明，该监控系统对冷藏集装箱安全、高效、及时地运输具有重要意义。     

Model and algorithm for container ship stowage planning based on bin-packing problem

In a general case, container ship serves many different ports on each voyage. A stowage planning for container ship made at one port must take account of the influence on subsequent ports. So the complexity of stowage planning problem increases due to its multi-ports nature. This problem is NP-hard problem. In order to reduce the computational complexity, the problem is decomposed into two sub-problems in this paper. First, container ship stowage problem （CSSP） is regarded as “packing problem”, ship-bays on the board of vessel are regarded as bins, the number of slots at each bay are taken as capacities of bins, and containers with different characteristics （homogeneous containers group） are treated as items packed. At this stage, there are two objective functions, one is to minimize the number of bays packed by containers and the other is to minimize the number of overstows. Secondly, containers assigned to each bays at first stage are allocate to special slot, the objective functions are to minimize the metacentric height, heel and overstows. The taboo search heuristics algorithm are used to solve the subproblem. The main focus of this paper is on the first subproblem. A case certifies the feasibility of the model and algorithm.     

CO2 emission statistics for the world commercial fleet

The purpose of this paper is to present an analysis of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions of the world commercial fleet. The analysis is based on the Lloyds-Fairplay world ship database for 2007 and produces various emissions statistics of the following major ship types: bulk carriers, crude oil tankers, container vessels, product/chemical carriers, LNG carriers, LPG carriers, reefer vessels, Ro-Ro vessels and general cargo ships. A separate analysis is carried out for small vessels under 400 GRT and for passenger vessels. The main outputs from this analysis for each ship type-size bracket are the emitted grams of CO₂ per tonne-km and an estimate of the total CO₂ produced in a year. The methodology for estimating these statistics is described, and a comparison with other studies is made.     

中小型集装箱船方形系数估算公式

在所收集的近百艘中小型集装箱船船型资料的基础上,作者对集装箱船方形系数与载箱数、傅汝德数的关系作了分析,并应用计算机回归得到一个能反映集装箱船特征的方形系数估算公式。此公式可应用于集装箱船的初步设计阶段。     

Multi-agent system with iterative auction mechanism for master bay plan problem in marine logistics

The support of containerization to trade development demands an efficient solution method for the container loading problem in order to reduce shipment and handling time. Hence, the stowage planning of containers is critical to provide speedy delivery of resources from the area of supply to the area of demand. Moreover, information on container terminal activities, structure of ship, and characteristics of containers is distributed among stowage planners. This information imposes constraints, and so the master bay plan problem (MBPP) becomes NP-hard. Therefore, a multi-agent systems (MAS) methodology is designed to effectively communicate the information and solve the MBPP sustainably. In the designed MAS methodology, an information exchange system (IES) is created for stowage planners to bid for ship slots in each experimental iterative combinatorial auction (ICA) market. The winner in the ICA experiments is provided with the ship slots, and the entire bay plan is prepared. Further, the ship-turnaround time is validated using the data obtained from the benchmark problem.     

混合蚁群算法求解集装箱箱位分配问题

集装箱船配载过程中的重要环节是合理的箱位分配,它对保证集装箱船装载后的航行性能及其码头装箱效率有重要的影响.随着集装箱船的大型化及待装船箱量的增加,该问题的求解较为困难.结合集装箱船配载中箱位分配的实际操作特点,提出了利用与禁忌算法相结合的混合蚁群算法来求解集装箱的箱位分配问题.仿真模拟试验表明该算法能够在不影响装箱难度的同时,大幅提高集装箱装船后船舶的航行性能.     

1700TEU（GWS）船货舱通风系统设计

随着目前海运市场对运输冷藏集装箱的需求日益增多,本文结合集装箱船装载冷藏集装箱和危险品的要求,介绍1700TEU(GWS)船货舱通风系统的设计特点。     

Multi-period liner ship fleet planning with dependent uncertain container shipment demand

This paper deals with a realistic multi-period liner ship fleet planning problem by incorporating stochastic dependency of the random and period-dependent container shipment demand. This problem is formulated as a multi-period stochastic programming model with a sequence of interrelated two-stage stochastic programming (2SSP) problems characterized ship fleet planning in each single period. A solution method integrating dual decomposition and Lagrangian relaxation method is designed for solving the developed model. Numerical experiments are carried out to assess applicability and performance of the proposed model and solution algorithm. The results further demonstrate importance of stochastic dependence of the uncertain container shipment demand.     

Optimal container ship size: a global cost minimization approach

ABSTRACT

Currently, the best container ship size in a service is determined mainly by the liner operator, considering only the economies of scale of ships. Its external diseconomies to the ports and shippers are usually not considered in the decision-making process, which may reduce the overall efficiency and lead to global nonoptimality. This study incorporates the cost to the shipping companies at the main lines, ports, and feeder services, as well as the external costs to shippers and ports in a hub-and-spoke network, and determines the best ship size and the number of weekly services to minimize the overall costs. The external cost to the shippers in the feeder ports is assumed to be proportional to the feeder cost, and a sensitivity analysis is provided. The maximum container ship size is estimated according to different levels of freight demand. A numerical analysis shows that the optimal size should be smaller than the current biggest container ships in service.     

Strategic fleet size planning for maritime refrigerated containers

In the present economic climate, it is often the case that profits can only be improved, or for that matter maintained, by improving efficiency and cutting costs. This is particularly notorious in the shipping business, where it has been seen that the competition is getting tougher among carriers, thus alliances and partnerships are resulting for cost effective services in recent years. In this scenario, effective planning methods are important not only for strategic but also operating tasks, covering their entire transportation systems. Container fleet size planning is an important part of the strategy of any shipping line. This paper addresses the problem of fleet size planning for refrigerated containers, to achieve cost-effective services in a competitive maritime shipping market. An analytical model is first discussed to determine the optimal size of an own dry container fleet. Then, this is extended for an own refrigerated container fleet, which is the case when an extremely unbalanced trade represents one of the major investment decisions to be taken by liner operators. Next, a simulation model is developed for fleet sizing in a more practical situation and, by using this, various scenarios are analysed to determine the most convenient composition of refrigerated fleet between own and leased containers for the transpacific cargo trade.     

2011年世界船舶市场评述与未来展望

在"增长放缓、风险增大"的2011年全球经济环境下,世界航运市场受"运力投放无休、运营成本增加"的影响而表现为"低迷不振"。新船的不断交付也使世界商船队年轻化势不可挡。新船建造市场同比有所下滑,液货船和散货船表现不佳,集装箱船和海工市场表现较好,新船价格呈现小幅下调趋势。预计2012年世界船市在三大主力船型上仍不容乐观,海工市场继续有尚佳表现。     

集装箱船舶大型化对中国班轮运输的影响

通过竞争情报分析提供了各班轮公司未来船队结构和运力的变化趋势,由此观察到各班轮公司为了降低自身的营运成本,在最近几年大量订购超巴拿马型甚至更大型的集装箱船舶参与运输,但是却不能达到其预期的规模效应。原因就在于相当一部分成本随着船型的增大而线性增加,规模不经济。我们探讨了中国的班轮运输市场的几个重要特点:中外贸易的不平衡导致了货源的不平衡;未来贸易结构的调整会影响航线的布局和调派;贸易上的不稳定因素使班轮公司遇到外在的风险。这些特点会深远地影响集装箱船舶大型化的经济受益,相反的,集装箱船舶大型化的趋势也会加剧这些负面的影响,危及整个班轮运输市场。     

超大型集装箱船的设计优化

本文以大连船舶重工集团有限公司自主研发设计的一系列集装箱船为基础,分析了超大型集装箱船的总体性能和结构特性及航线和货物特点,阐述了与总体性能、分舱、结构设计、集装箱布置和营运安全管理等有关的设计改进建议和优化措施,期望通过设计改进得到性能全面优化的超大型集装箱船。     

基于遗传算法的编队条件下舰船修理周期结构优化

舰船的部署和修理活动在全寿命期内是按其修理周期结构进行,而编队的使用则需要编队内各舰艇的修理周期结构的相互配合,通过组合优化各舰艇的修理周期结构,可以使编队拥有更多的部署时间。在舰船修理周期结构的定量描述模型基础上,构建了编队的修理调度模型,并采用遗传算法对编队的部署能力进行了优化分析。实例分析结果表明:优化后编队的部署时间可达到近110个月,相对于未优化前提高了50个月。     

基于模拟减少集装箱船待港时间的实用方法(英文)

The main challenge for container ports is the planning required for berthing container ships while docked in port.Growth of containerization is creating problems for ports and container terminals as they reach their capacity limits of various resources which increasingly leads to traffic and port congestion.Good planning and management of container terminal operations reduces waiting time for liner ships.Reducing the waiting time improves the terminal’s productivity and decreases the port difficulties.Two important keys to reducing waiting time with berth allocation are determining suitable access channel depths and increasing the number of berths which in this paper are studied and analyzed as practical solutions.Simulation based analysis is the only way to understand how various resources interact with each other and how they are affected in the berthing time of ships.We used the Enterprise Dynamics software to produce simulation models due to the complexity and nature of the problems.We further present case study for berth allocation simulation of the biggest container terminal in Iran and the optimum access channel depth and the number of berths are obtained from simulation results.The results show a significant reduction in the waiting time for container ships and can be useful for major functions in operations and development of container ship terminals.     

Estimation of CO2 reduction for Japanese domestic container transportation based on mathematical models

This research discusses domestic feeder container transportation connected with international trades in Japan. Optimal round trip courses of container ship fleet from the perspective of CO₂ emission reduction are calculated and analyzed to obtain basic knowledge about CO₂ emission reduction in the container feeder transportation system. Specifically, based on the weekly origin–destination (OD) data at a hub port (Kobe) and other related transportation data, the ship routes are designed by employing a mathematical modeling approach. First, a mixed integer programming model is formulated and solved by using an optimization software that employs branch and bound algorithm. The objective function of the model is to minimize the CO₂ emission subject to necessary (and partially simplified) constraints. The model is then tested on various types of ships with different speed and capacity. Moreover, it is also tested on various waiting times at hub port to investigate the effect in CO₂ emission of the designated fleet. Both the assessment method of container feeder transportation and the transportation’s basic insights in view of CO₂ emission are shown through the analysis.