An approach for development of a ship routing algorithm for application in the North Indian Ocean region

This paper presents a general approach for the development of a ship weather routing algorithm for determining optimal route which is taken here as the minimum-time route. The optimization model is based on a form of Dijkstra's algorithm. The developed algorithm is versatile and is capable of considering nearly all realistic practical constraints that a ship faces during her voyage. The 'weight' functions and the routes are determined by considering both involuntary and voluntary speed reduction. The algorithm is investigated using various realistic wave data for the North Indian Ocean region obtained from a 3rd generation WAM model. Illustrative examples of minimum-time sea routes on Arabian Sea and Bay-of-Bengal have been determined and presented to demonstrate the capability of the algorithm in handling many practical constraints within its framework.