Why the term “voyage optimization” creates confusion
In practice, the same term is used for two very different layers of decision-making. The first layer starts after a voyage is already defined: the vessel has an assigned route and the task is to execute it better. The second layer starts before a route is chosen: the task is to decide which voyage should exist in the first place, given a changing cargo market, constraints and strategic objectives.
Navigation-focused voyage optimizers (routing layer)
Navigation-focused optimizers help a vessel already assigned to a route travel more safely, efficiently and sustainably. They typically optimise:
- weather routing and safety constraints,
- speed and ETA optimization,
- fuel consumption and performance curves,
- emissions estimates linked to speed–distance decisions.
These tools are valuable, especially for execution and operational performance. But they assume the commercial decision - the cargo choice, sequencing and voyage structure - has already been made.
Commercial optimization (chartering decision layer)
Commercial optimization operates one layer earlier. It answers questions such as:
- Which cargoes should we take from the available pool?
- How should we sequence cargoes into a voyage chain?
- What are the trade-offs between cost, profit, emissions and time exposure?
- How do constraints (laycans, compatibility, tank/hold allocation, schedule limits) change the optimal decision?
This is a different class of problem that requires a different class of solutions — economic and mathematical optimization models that can evaluate many feasible scenarios and identify the best ones under real-world constraints.
What Marine Solver optimises
Marine Solver is not a routing tool. It is a commercial optimization engine built on econometric and mathematical programming models. It helps operators, chartering teams and brokers choose the best cargoes, assemble voyage chains, and evaluate scenarios under operational and regulatory constraints.
Marine Solver minimises total cost and evaluates commercial outcomes by modelling key drivers such as:
- fuel costs (including differentiated fuels such as VLSFO and FO/HFO),
- canal tolls (via automatic canal detection),
- EU ETS exposure where applicable (via EU port detection),
- port-related costs (PDA, port waiting, cargo operations),
- operational constraints (laycans, compatibility, schedule feasibility),
- emissions constraints and target bands via IMO CII (AER)-aware optimization.
Why the distinction matters
Routing optimization improves execution of an already chosen voyage. Commercial optimization improves the decision that defines the voyage itself. In practice, they complement each other - but they are not interchangeable.
If your challenge is “how do we sail this route better?”, you need routing tools. If your challenge is “which cargoes and voyage chain should we choose under cost, profit and emissions constraints?”, you need commercial optimization.