Sailing through uncertainty: ship pipe routing and the energy transition

Abstract

The energy transition from fossil fuels to sustainable alternatives makes the design of future-proof ships even more important. In the design phase of a ship, it is uncertain how many and which fuels it will use in the future due to many external factors. In fact, a ship typically sails for decades, increasing the likelihood that it will use different fuels during its lifetime. Pipe route design is expensive and time-consuming, mainly done by hand. Motivated by this, in previous research, we have proposed a mathematical optimization framework for automatic pipe routing under uncertainty of the energy transition. In this paper, we build on the state-of-the-art by implementing design constraints in mathematical models based on discussions with maritime design experts. Additionally, we apply these models to realistic, complex situations of a commercial ship design company. Our experiments show that location-dependent installation costs, which reflect reality, increase the usefulness of stochastic optimization compared to deterministic and robust optimization. Additionally, to prepare for a possible transition to more sustainable fuels, we recommend installing suitable pipes near the engine room upfront to prevent expensive retrofits in the future.