A Simultaneous Column-and-Row Generation Solution Method for Liner Shipping Network Design

Optimizing Liner Shipping Network Design via Simultaneous Column- and Row-Generation In “A Simultaneous Column- and Row-Generation Solution Method for Liner Shipping Network Design,” Xia, Xu, and Baldacci tackle a challenging liner shipping network design problem, which involves complex rotation structures and interdependent decisions on rotation design, fleet deployment, and cargo routing. The authors propose a new exact solution method based on a simultaneous column- and row-generation framework with novel acceleration techniques, named the LP-based approach and postpricing phase. These techniques leverage dual information to avoid generating unnecessary columns, speeding up the convergence of the solution method. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated for two variants of the liner shipping network design problem. Beyond maritime transportation, this work contributes to the broader field of mathematical programming by introducing an adaptable solution framework and speedup techniques for solving large-scale integer linear programs with column-dependent rows.