Optimal Vessel Planning in Natural Inland Waterways

This book delves into the intricate world of scheduling and rescheduling vessels in natural inland waterways, offering insights and strategies crucial for effective management in this dynamic environment. Inland waterways serve as vital arteries for transportation, facilitating the movement of goods and people across regions. However, managing vessel schedules amidst varying conditions poses significant challenges. From weather fluctuations to unexpected maintenance issues, navigating these waterways demands meticulous planning and adaptability. Within these pages, we explore the complexities of scheduling within the context of natural inland waterways. Drawing from both theoretical frameworks and practical experiences, we dissect the key factors influencing scheduling decisions and delve into innovative approaches for optimization.

Although crucial to global logistics, inland ports grapple with persistent challenges. Foremost among these is the intricate task of planning cargo vessel journeys. Effective planning not only boosts port efficiency and reputation but is also paramount for operational safety. This challenge is particularly pronounced in natural waterways, where depth and width are subject to uncontrollable natural forces. Take, for instance, the Guadalquivir River, linking the Atlantic Ocean to the inland Port of Seville in the south of Spain. To address this, in this chapter we present a two-step strategy aimed at optimizing vessel journey times amidst varying water depths and encounter scenarios. The proposed solution delineates specific crossing times at boundary points along the waterway. We evaluate its advantages against a traditional first-come, first-served scheduling approach, focusing on optimality and feasibility.

This research introduces a framework designed to identify, classify, and effectively reschedule major accidents occurring in natural inland waterways. Leveraging real-time vessel positioning data from monitoring systems, deviations from planned trajectories are detected, and a classification algorithm determines the nature of each incident. To facilitate optimal rescheduling, diverse strategies tailored to the specifics of each incident and the typical challenges of these waterways are proposed. The overarching goal is to minimize disruptions and limit the number of affected vessels, thereby safeguarding the port’s reputation. To validate the efficacy of the methodology, a practical application is conducted in the Guadalquivir River, with a comparative analysis of the outcomes achieved through various rescheduling strategies.

In this chapter, we present a practical implementation of a software tool designed for scheduling vessels in natural inland waterways, following the requirements imposed by the port authorities of the Guadalquivir River, an inland port located in the south of Spain. The implemented system focuses on optimizing the planning of cargo vessel journeys in inland waterways. This, along with the integrated library of functions, equips navigation planners with a comprehensive solution for optimizing vessel routes while considering the constraints imposed by varying depths and encounter situations. By considering real-time data and environmental conditions, it enables the calculation of safe crossing windows (tubes) for vessels to pass through critical points along their journeys, thereby minimizing the risk of accidents and ensuring safe navigation. This implementation represents a significant step forward in the field of inland navigation planning, offering a valuable resource for improving logistics operations in these challenging environments. The codes with the different functionalities for the implementation of the safe tube finding algorithm as well as the optimization problem for calculating the optimal trip plans of all vessels have been distributed through an open-source repository.

The culmination of the individual studies within this book has yielded comprehensive insights and innovative solutions aimed at enhancing the planning and navigation of vessels in natural inland waterways, with a particular focus on the challenging environment of the Guadalquivir River. The application of the proposed methodologies, as demonstrated in each of the chapters of this book, would result not only in an improvement in the safety of navigation but also in an increase in the productivity and efficiency of the process in economic and social terms.