On 20 April, Maritime Research Alliance is organizing the first network meeting for maritime PhD fellows. The purpose of the network is to connect maritime PhD students across research institutions in a combination of social and work related events. At this meeting we will have a presentation from Beizhen Jia who works as a Data Scientist at DS NORDEN and recently defended her PhD from Aalborg University on sustainability in RO/RO shipping.

When: 20 April from 15.00 to 19:00

Where: Copenhagen Business School (room TBA shortly)

Program

15:00-15:15      Welcome by MRA coordinator Thomas Roslyng Olesen

15:15-15:45      Introduction to current maritime PhD projects

15:45-16:15      What do we want from the MRA PhD network?

16:15-16:30      Coffee break

16:30-17:30      Presentation by Beizhen Jia: Sustainable Short Sea RO/RO Shipping through Optimization of Cargo Stowage and Operations

17:30-18:00      Walk and talk

18:00-19:00      Social dinner

Sustainable Short Sea Roll-on Roll-off Shipping through Optimization of Cargo Stowage and Operations

By Beizhen Jia, Data Scientist at D/S NORDEN and PhD from Aalborg University in 2020.

Maritime transport is the backbone of global trade. In Europe, short sea Roll-on/Roll-off (RoRo) shipping is a dominant transportation mode due to its flexibility and connectivity. The RoRo shipping industry is faced with many challenges to comply with international regulations and remain competitive. The study contributes to the field of sustainable RoRo cargo operations with a focus on stowage through digitalization and optimization methods. The aim has been to develop prototype solutions that can be implemented and integrated into planning tools to support decision makings of practitioners.

Specifically, the study investigates the problems of stowage planning, dual cycling, and cargo discharge time estimation, inspired and motivated by DFDS, one of the largest short sea RoRo shipping companies in Europe. In close collaboration with the company, primary inefficiencies of current cargo operations have been identified and optimization challenges/problems have been formulated. Mathematical models, a heuristic, and a statistical framework have been proposed and tested on real data. Results indicate that the solutions proposed have a significant impact on sustainability, in particular, reducing fuel consumption and emissions of the RoRo shipping industry.