Integrated Optimization of Cargo Distribution and Ship Speed for Heavy-Cargo Transportation

In order to study the influence of different fuel consumption of semi-submersible vessels with full-load and no-load on heavy cargo distribution and optimal speed, a integrated optimization model of cargo distribution and ship speed was built, and a global search method based on an insertion method and an improved recursive smoothing algorithm (IRSA) was designed. In this method, the insertion method was used to solve the cargo distribution problem, and the IRSA was used to calculate the optimal speed of full-load and no-load ships. The results of an application example show that compared with the traditional recursive smoothing algorithm (RSA), the global search method can reduce the transportation cost 2.403 million Yuan; compared with the time based discretization approach with the time window divided into six and nine parts, the global search method can decrease the CUP time by 71.1 and 767.3 s, respectively.