Energy management optimization of container ships considering the power of reefers

The advantages of reefers (refrigerated containers) in transporting special goods have led to their increasing proportion in maritime transport year by year. The working mode of reefers and their not-so-stringent temperature requirements enable them to play a certain energy storage role in the ship's power system. This paper proposes an optimization method that incorporates reefer power into ship energy management. By jointly planning the power of reefers with that of other loads on board, the economy and carbon emissions of a ship on a certain fixed route are optimized. Finally, a coastal shipping route in China is used as a case to verify the superiority of the proposed method in this paper.