Advanced optimized weather routing for an ocean-going vessel

Based on current growth patterns in the global economy, there are projections that there will be an overall increase in the emissions of harmful gases from ships. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) requires the preparation of management plans to improve the efficiency of ship navigation. Moreover, shipping companies should pay careful attention to fuel consumption and environmental conservation. In this paper, we propose a newly developed weather-routing optimization technology that focuses on fuel-consumption minimization and energy-efficiency operational indicator (EEOI) minimization while on voyages. We consider the constant variations in the sea and weather conditions, including wind, wave, and current conditions. This is achieved by performing a cost-function minimization. The cost function is calculated by performing an entire maneuvering simulation from a transoceanic voyage´s starting point to its end point by solving horizontal differential equations of motion such as those related to the yaw, sway, and surge. The simulations consider the ship´s hull force, propeller thrust, rudder force, wave force, and wind force. Both sets of results obtained in this study for the optimal routes are reasonable because the values of EEOI and FOC are reduced compared with the values for the great circle route, which is the shortest path between the two points. On the other hand, the optimized route in the EEOI minimization calculation does not provide the FOC minimum value.