RO-PAX ship stowage plan evaluation method based on multi-agent simulation and fuzzy theory

To evaluate the Roll-On/Roll-Off Passenger ship（RO-PAX ship） stowage plan comprehensively and effectively, a method based on simulation and fuzzy theory is proposed. An evaluation index system is established for the RO-PAX ship stowage plan considering ship safety, vehicle safety, and economic benefits. A quantitative evaluation of the RO-PAX ship stowage plan is conducted by using a simulation model built by agent-based simulation and micro-traffic simulation. A comprehensive evaluation of the RO-PAX ship stowage plan is performed based on fuzzy theory, and the effectiveness of the proposed method is validated using a study case. The results show that the proposed method can evaluate the RO-PAX ship stowage plan intuitively and provide decision support for planning of RO-PAX ship stowage.