Planning Optimal Refloating Plan to Minimize Ground Reaction Force and Refloating Cost

Stranding accidents are a frequent occurrence in domestic waters, often resulting in significant economic losses and marine pollution. The primary objective of this study is to develop an optimization program for refloating plans that minimizes both the ground reaction force on the ship and the overall operational cost. The developed program employs a modified nonlinear hydrostatic analysis method, which numerically calculates the equilibrium posture of a grounded ship during refloating operations. Using a genetic algorithm, the program sets the types of refloating actions and associated cargo volumes as design variables, while ensuring the ship's equilibrium is maintained. The program also accounts for a minimum ground reaction force improvement rate as a constraint to prevent structural instability. Numerical simulations on representative ship configurations confirmed the effectiveness of the optimization program. It successfully identified optimal cargo redistribution plans that achieved the predetermined ground reaction force improvement criteria of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%. The results demonstrate that the program effectively minimizes operational costs while satisfying the safety and stability criteria, providing a systematic approach to enhance the safety of salvage operations and reduce the environmental impact of maritime stranding incidents.