A Data-Driven Method for Ship Route Planning Under Dynamic Environments

Song, Zhaofeng; Zhang, Jinfen; Wan, Chengpeng; Guedes Soares, C.

doi:10.3390/jmse13101901

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Open AccessArticle

A Data-Driven Method for Ship Route Planning Under Dynamic Environments

¹

State Key Laboratory of Maritime Technology and Safety, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430063, China

²

Intelligent Transportation System Research Center, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430063, China

³

Centre for Marine Technology and Ocean Engineering (CENTEC), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2025, 13(10), 1901; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13101901

Submission received: 3 August 2025 / Revised: 20 September 2025 / Accepted: 22 September 2025 / Published: 3 October 2025

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Abstract

The paper proposes an improved A* Algorithm based on historical AIS data for the multi-objective optimisation of ship weather routes, explicitly focusing on optimising voyage distance, economic costs, and emission costs within Sulphur Emission Control Areas. The method utilises trajectory interpolation, Ordering Points to Identify the Clustering Structure, and the Douglas–Peucker algorithm to preprocess AIS data, thereby enhancing the flexibility and accuracy of multi-objective path planning. The method incorporates different cost weights and the time dimension to optimise different routes dynamically. The technique also optimises the route in real time by treating ship power as a decision variable, adjusting the power according to different task requirements. The proposed method is compared with other commonly used path planning algorithms within a specific maritime area. The results show that it offers better adaptability in terms of multi-objective costs and timeliness.

Keywords: weather routing; trajectory clustering; Douglas-Peucker algorithm; emission control area; multi-objective optimisation

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MDPI and ACS Style

Song, Z.; Zhang, J.; Wan, C.; Guedes Soares, C. A Data-Driven Method for Ship Route Planning Under Dynamic Environments. J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2025, 13, 1901. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13101901

AMA Style

Song Z, Zhang J, Wan C, Guedes Soares C. A Data-Driven Method for Ship Route Planning Under Dynamic Environments. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering. 2025; 13(10):1901. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13101901

Chicago/Turabian Style

Song, Zhaofeng, Jinfen Zhang, Chengpeng Wan, and C. Guedes Soares. 2025. "A Data-Driven Method for Ship Route Planning Under Dynamic Environments" Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 13, no. 10: 1901. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13101901

APA Style

Song, Z., Zhang, J., Wan, C., & Guedes Soares, C. (2025). A Data-Driven Method for Ship Route Planning Under Dynamic Environments. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 13(10), 1901. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13101901

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A Data-Driven Method for Ship Route Planning Under Dynamic Environments

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