Review of ship arrangement design using optimization methods

Abstract This study presents a comprehensive review of various research efforts aimed at optimizing ship arrangement design. A detailed comparative analysis was conducted on studies that approached ship arrangement design from an optimization perspective. Therefore, the fundamental components of an optimization problem (design variables, objective functions, and constraints) were systematically summarized. Ship arrangement design problems encompass a broad range of applications, including compartments, cabins, and equipment, and the problem definitions for each were compared and analysed. In ship arrangement design, the design variables subject to optimization primarily include the positions of bulkheads, the order of compartment assignments, and, in the case of cabins, elements such as corridors connecting cabins. For equipment arrangement, design variables consider the location of the equipment and, for multilayer arrangement, the floor on which the equipment is to be placed. Regarding objective functions, various studies proposed and applied different functions to optimize operability for improving operational efficiency, stability for enhancing survivability, and cost efficiency, which is particularly critical for merchant vessels. Finally, constraints were considered, including a range of physical constraints and regulatory constraints that vary by ship type. Using these definitions, ship arrangement optimization problems were applied across different ship types, and the study discusses how future research in ship arrangement optimization may develop further.