Delft University of Technology
Faculty Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering Transport Technology / Logistic Engineering
M. de Bruijn JoStow: a decision support system for stowage planning of chemical tankers. Masters thesis, Report 96.3.LT.4729, Transport Technology, Logistic Engineering.
Transportation of chemicals involves very high investment in vessels and equipment, and it is important to utilise it efficiently. A rapid turn around of these vessels becomes important, due to the characteristics of the route and the volume and value of cargo involved. This creates the need for efficient stowage planning.
The purpose of this graduation project is the development of a decision support system for stowage planning of chemical tankers that can provide automated processing capabilities to human planners.
The stowage planning of chemical tankers is a process by which the stowage locations of cargoes, on board a vessel, are planned before loading in order to minimize the costs while maximizing vessel utilization. The requirements of stowage planning are becoming more demanding and complex with the development of new chemicals, vessels with more tanks and stricter regulations. For example, the number of possible stowage configurations for a vessel with 40 tanks is astronomical (approximately 8.1047). Clearly, reliance on manual systems will become more difficult and more costly in the future. It was decided to design a prototype of a stowage planning system (JoStow) because there is no program on the market that can automate the stowage planning process. There are still three programs that can help the operator with stowage planning. These programs are the Expert Loading System, Milbros and Super Cargo.
JoStow consists of two parts:
The semi-automatic part provides the operator with a computer assisted stowage planning system. This program checks the compatibilities and shows the results of the stowage.
The automatic part of the program automates the stowage planning process. This means that the program generates several stowage plans, which are possible with a booking list.
The reason for this division of the program is: making the operator enthusiastic for a stowage planning system and providing with a good basis for the automatic part of the program.
The results of JoStow are satisfying. The semi-automatic part of JoStow can be used by the operator yet, while the automatic part of JoStow generates stowage plans automatically.
Reports on Logistic Engineering (in Dutch)
