Pre-Fixture Fleet Intelligence & Planning

Pre-Fixture Fleet Optimization & Voyage Chain Solver

Fleet planning, chartering optimization and decision support for dry bulk, liquid bulk and general cargo.

Marine Solver searches feasible vessel-cargo assignments, builds optimized Voyage Chains and fleet plans, and evaluates their economics, timing and environmental exposure — before fixture. Compare alternatives, stress-test assumptions and assess whether the preferred plan remains the right commercial decision.

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Designed as pre-fixture fleet optimization software, Marine Solver supports chartering decision-making, vessel-cargo matching, voyage-chain optimization and fleet deployment planning. Its voyage solver capabilities are part of a wider decision-intelligence environment — not just a calculator for a voyage already selected.

Vessels

Cargoes

Routes

Constraints

Optimization Decision Space Scenario Engine

Ranked Decision Scenarios

The decision before the voyage

What is pre-fixture fleet optimization?

Voyage calculation measures the consequences of a planned voyage. Pre-fixture fleet optimization addresses an earlier question: which cargoes should be selected, which vessels should carry them, and how should successive voyages and commitments fit together?

Marine Solver applies mathematical optimization to connected commercial choices — vessel availability, cargo opportunities, laycans, routes, space constraints and fleet objectives — before the fixture is agreed. The result is a set of feasible, comparable decision scenarios, not merely a faster calculation of one chosen route.

Core concept

From Decision Space to Decision Scenarios

Start with available vessels, cargo opportunities, routes, objectives and real commercial constraints. The optimization engine explores the feasible decision space, constructs alternative fleet deployment scenarios and returns transparent evidence for pre-fixture decision-making.

Decision Space

Vessels Cargoes Ports Laycans Routes Costs Emissions Compliance

Optimization Core

Feasibility filtering
Objective evaluation
Voyage-chain construction
Scenario generation

Decision Scenarios

Ranked alternatives
Voyage Chains & fleet plans
Schedules and allocations
Transparent comparison

Analysis

Time / Cost / Profit
TCE and Cost/Day
Environmental metrics
Decision stress testing

Four planning modes

One optimization engine. Four different commercial questions.

Marine Solver changes the mathematical decision space to match the planning problem — from full-load employment to multi-cargo allocation, contractual liftings and fleet-wide transportation-program coverage.

Sole Cargo

Find the strongest vessel employment and Voyage Chains

Search full-load cargo opportunities for one or several vessels while accounting for open positions, laycans, freight, ballast, future positioning and voyage-chain logic.

Planning Horizon or Target Chain mode
Single voyage or multi-leg Voyage Chain
Fixed assignments, exclusions and mandatory cargoes
Exit Point and target-region positioning logic

Sole Cargo methodology →

Part Cargo

Build feasible cargo combinations, sequences and distributions

Optimize part-cargo combinations across liquid bulk, dry bulk and general cargo. Evaluate commercial returns together with onboard cargo, port sequences, compatibility and available vessel space before detailed stowage engineering.

Ballast, onboard-start and discharge-sequencing modes
Tank / hold allocation and cargo compatibility
AND / OR / MUST / vessel-space rules
General Cargo dimensions, tiers and OnTop logic

Part Cargo methodology →

COA

Optimize how contractual lifting obligations are covered

Plan mandatory liftings across the available fleet while preserving commercial flexibility and integrating spot opportunities where they strengthen the chain.

Mandatory contractual liftings
Fleet assignment across the planning horizon
Spot cargo integration between commitments
Contract execution and fleet-utilization scenarios

COA methodology →

Trader Fleet

Optimize transportation-program coverage across the fleet

Optimize a transportation program as one connected system: which cargoes the fleet can cover, which vessels should be assigned, what remains uncovered and where additional vessel availability or repositioning would improve coverage.

Fleet coverage instead of isolated voyage selection
Flow-based cargo program generation
Uncovered-opportunity analysis
Follow-up planning for residual cargoes and unused vessels

Trader Fleet methodology →

Optimization criteria

Define what “optimal” means

Different objectives can produce different vessel allocations and Voyage Chains, not just a different ranking of the same plans. The user chooses which commercial or environmental outcome to optimize before the search begins.

↓

Minimize Cost

Reduce total voyage-chain operational cost across ballast, fuel, ports, waiting, canals and regulatory exposure.

↑

Maximize Profit

Search for the strongest net commercial outcome while balancing freight income, voyage costs and positioning.

◷

Minimize Non-Productive Time

Reduce ballast, waiting and idle exposure across the Voyage Chain and fleet plan.

CO₂

Minimize Emissions

Search for feasible scenarios with the lowest total CO₂ footprint under the selected operating assumptions.

Commercial thresholds Daily Cost Cap Daily Profit Floor

Environmental controls CO₂ Limits CII Target

Control & constraint layer

Optimization is controllable — not a black box

Users define the commercial rules and flexibility of the problem. The engine searches inside that controlled feasible space instead of hiding assumptions behind one unexplained answer.

Laycan & Timing

Strict laycan or configurable deviations
Berth / queue arrival logic
Ignore Laycan for exploratory scenarios
Safety Buffer before cancelling
Planning Horizon and Target Chain controls

Cargo & Vessel Logic

Mandatory cargoes and fixed assignments
AND / OR cargo grouping
Vessel include / exclude rules
Cargo compatibility and placement constraints
Onboard and previous-cargo logic where applicable

Geography & Routes

Dynamic route calculation
Suez, Panama, Kiel and Turkish Straits cost logic
Route-avoidance and piracy-sensitive routing
SECA/ECA and EU-port detection
Port ambiguity resolution and expandable port pool

Fits your existing workflow

From your fleet and cargo data to better pre-fixture decisions

Start with the vessel positions, cargo lists and planning assumptions your team already uses. Direct integration is optional — Marine Solver can be used without replacing existing chartering or voyage systems.

01 — Bring your data

Manual entry and private saved workspaces
CSV, Excel and JSON file upload
Vessel lists, cargo opportunities and trade flows

02 — Define the decision space

Select the planning mode and optimization objective
Set laycans, priorities and route constraints
Control commercial and regulatory assumptions

03 — Optimize, compare, retain

Inspect fleet plans and alternative Voyage Chains
Stress-test with decision-analysis tools
Export PDF / Excel, save privately or clear working data

Environmental & regulatory intelligence

Commercial and environmental optimization in one decision space

Environmental performance is not added only after optimization is finished. Marine Solver brings emissions, regulatory costs and environmental targets into pre-fixture planning so their commercial consequences are visible before commitment.

Fuel choice, route geography, Voyage Chain structure, vessel utilization and fleet positioning can change both economics and environmental exposure. Marine Solver evaluates these effects together rather than as separate reports.

CO₂ Total emissions by scenario, vessel, Voyage Chain and cargo level.

EU ETS Integrated allowance-cost logic for applicable EU voyage exposure.

SECA / ECA Zone-aware distances, fuel assumptions and commercial cost implications.

CII / AER Forecast performance and use a CII target as a planning constraint when required.

FuelEU Maritime Voyage-chain greenhouse-gas intensity, compliance balance and expected penalty or credit effects within the environmental analysis layer.

Scenario output & analysis

Find the plan — then understand why it is stronger

Marine Solver does not end at the objective value. Each selected scenario becomes a complete analytical result that can be reviewed, compared and recalculated.

Up to five optimized scenarios

Compare alternative Voyage Chains, vessel assignments and fleet plans instead of relying on one opaque answer.

Operational schedule & timeline

Review ballast and laden legs, loading and discharge operations, waiting, port calls and complete chain timing.

Commercial & environmental breakdown

Cost, profit, TCE, Cost/Day, emissions and compliance metrics at scenario, vessel and cargo level.

Decision Analysis

Move beyond the initial optimum. Compare Fixed-Plan What-if results, Cost and Profitability Envelopes, and Plan Stability to understand both performance and robustness.

Decision Analysis & robustness

Optimization finds the plan. Decision Analysis tests the choice.

A plan that looks strongest under today's assumptions may not remain strongest when fuel prices, timing or routes change. Marine Solver lets commercial teams evaluate the performance, economic boundaries and structural stability of pre-fixture decisions.

Fixed-Plan What-if Analysis

Preserve the selected vessel assignments and Voyage Chains while recalculating their performance under changed assumptions.

Test fuel, EUA, weather and vessel-performance assumptions
Compare costs, profit, timing and environmental effects
Check ranking and feasibility without re-optimization

Cost & Profitability Envelopes

Explore the economic boundaries of fixed decision scenarios without re-optimization. Cost Envelope identifies cost leadership and switching boundaries, while Profitability Envelope measures how much market conditions can change before Profit/Day reaches zero.

Cost Envelope: compare total cost, Cost/Day and scenario leadership across Fuel and Eco Fuel price ranges, keeping the selected EUA price fixed.
Profitability Envelope: identify market stress buffers and break-even thresholds for Fuel, Eco Fuel and EUA.
Evaluate the commercial exposure and resilience of the selected Voyage Chains.

Plan Stability Analysis

Change tested market, operating or routing conditions and re-optimize. Compare the new optimum with the reference plan.

Test whether vessel-cargo assignments remain the same
Identify changes in cargo selection or Voyage Chain sequence
See when a different plan becomes preferable

Solver or Analyzer?

Start at the right point in the decision process

Marine Solver builds optimized vessel-cargo and fleet plans. Voyage Analyzer evaluates up to three plans already defined by the user. They address different steps in the same pre-fixture decision process.

Marine Solver

Need the system to find the Voyage Chains or fleet plan?

Define the fleet, cargo decision space, objective and constraints. Marine Solver searches feasible vessel-cargo-route combinations, constructs optimized alternatives and then analyzes their commercial, operational and environmental performance.

Book a Demo

Voyage Analyzer

Already have the Voyage Chains you want to compare?

Enter up to three planned Voyage Chains and calculate their voyage P&L, TCE, schedule, emissions, EU ETS, CII and FuelEU Maritime metrics without asking the system to select or optimize the sequence for you.

Explore Voyage Analyzer

Planning scope

Built for commercial shipping decisions before commitments are fixed

Dry Bulk Breakbulk Liquid Bulk Chartering Fleet Optimization Chartering Decision Support Pre-Fixture Planning Voyage Chain Optimization

Deep dives

Explore the planning logic behind Marine Solver

Business Situations Recognizable commercial cases covered by the decision engine. Optimization as Control Why objectives and constraints remain explicit to the user. Laycan Strategy Strict windows, flexibility, negotiation space and safety buffers. Environmental Planning How environmental performance becomes a pre-fixture planning parameter.

FAQ

Marine Solver questions

Is Marine Solver a voyage solver?

Yes, but it is broader than a conventional voyage solver. Marine Solver is pre-fixture fleet optimization software: it searches vessel-cargo assignments, multi-leg Voyage Chains, cargo combinations, contractual liftings and fleet coverage within a connected commercial decision space.

Can Marine Solver build Voyage Chains automatically?

Yes. In the relevant planning modes, the engine evaluates feasible cargo and vessel sequences and constructs optimized Voyage Chains under the selected objective, laycan logic, route assumptions and constraints.

Can it optimize several vessels and cargoes at the same time?

Yes. Marine Solver is designed for system-level planning where vessel assignment, cargo selection, timing, positioning and commercial constraints interact across the same optimization problem.

How does Marine Solver optimize chartering decisions?

It searches feasible vessel-cargo allocations and Voyage Chains under vessel positions, laycans, bunker costs, commercial rules and regulatory assumptions. The objective can be minimum cost, maximum profit, minimum non-productive time or minimum emissions. TCE is among the reported metrics for comparing scenarios.

Does Part Cargo include cargo allocation and vessel-space logic?

Yes. Part Cargo can evaluate cargo combinations together with tank or hold feasibility, onboard cargo, compatibility, placement restrictions and alternative distribution plans.

How are COA and Trader Fleet different?

COA focuses on how mandatory contractual liftings can be covered efficiently while integrating spot opportunities. Trader Fleet starts from a wider transportation program and asks how effectively the available fleet can cover it.

Does Marine Solver include EU ETS, CII and FuelEU Maritime?

Yes. The environmental layer includes CO₂ emissions, EU ETS exposure, SECA/ECA-aware voyage logic, CII/AER performance and FuelEU Maritime metrics. Environmental objectives and constraints can influence which scenarios are considered stronger or feasible.

What is the difference between pre-fixture fleet optimization and voyage estimation?

Voyage estimation calculates the performance of a voyage already planned. Pre-fixture fleet optimization decides which feasible vessel-cargo combinations, voyage sequences and fleet allocations should be considered before a fixture is concluded.

Can I start without integrating Marine Solver with my systems?

Yes. You can enter planning data manually or upload current vessel and cargo data using supported file formats. Direct integration is optional; the platform supports private workspaces and PDF / Excel export of results.

What is the difference between What-if and Plan Stability?

Fixed-Plan What-if recalculates the same assignments and Voyage Chains under changed assumptions. Plan Stability re-optimizes the decision space and tests whether a different plan is selected. Cost and Profitability Envelopes explore price-driven cost leadership and break-even boundaries for fixed plans.

Does Marine Solver replace the commercial decision-maker?

No. Marine Solver is a decision-support system. The engine expands and evaluates the feasible decision space, while the user defines objectives, constraints and business context and remains responsible for the final commercial decision.