Containership cargo profiles, cargo systems, and stowage capacity: key performance indicators

Abstract

Being fit for purpose is a key element of a cargo system (or ship configuration). It is important to understand a certain cargo profile (or cargo mix) and to build a match between cargo profile and cargo system. The actual maximum capacity utilization of a ship is determined by the compatibility of these two factors. These operational questions are related to the planning and execution of stowage. The objective of this paper is to review container stowage metrics; demonstrate how a cargo profile may affect the productivity of the ship; and, finally, to propose a new metric to evaluate the effectiveness of ship stowage. Our metric is presented through a practical example.