Research On Optimal Voyage Decision Optimization Of Bulk Cargo Shipping

With the development of the international economy, globalization of commodity markets, and the expanding of the international bulk shipping market, the competition among bulk cargo shipping companies also growing fast. Furthermore, the bulk cargo transport market is very volatile market because of the external environmental factors and characteristics of their own transactions. As a result, the difficulty of shipping company voyage decision is increasing. There needs to be an industry-specific method for optimal voyage selection of bulk cargo shipping in order to maximize the benefits under the operation capacity of the company. As a result, they can respond more quickly to determine the optimal investment portfolio.On the foundation of previously research, the thesis focuses on the research of optimal voyage selection to meet the specific needs of bulk cargo shipping. Firstly, we analysis how cargo, vessel, port and the capacity of company influence the decision. Secondly, based on the rule engine and knapsack problem, we create the corresponding optimal voyage selection model and define reasonable constraint rules to accelerate getting final results. Finally, we take the practical application of optimal voyage selection method in one company in order to verify the effectiveness of the method. This thesis provides solutions on selecting optimal voyage portfolio for ocean shipping companies and advances the ability of voyage estimation in ocean shipping. Generally, the solutions have higher theoretic meanings and practice values.