A Heuristic Approach For Solving Container-on-Barge Stowage Planning Problem Based On Bin-Packing First-Fit Algorithm

In this work, we tackle the 3D container stowage planning problem in the case of inland navigation vessels called barges. This problem aims at determining the most suitable arrangement possible of the containers in the barge in order to facilitate its recovery in the chronology of destination ports, while satisfying the context-dependent structural and operational constraints linked to both the containers and the barge. The main objective is to minimize the total number of unproductive loading and unloading movements, called "shiftings" while ensuring the longitudinal, transversal and vertical stability of the barge. This problem is considered based on its relation with the bin-packing problem. Within this context, we propose a novel heuristic approach for solving container-on-barge stowage planning problem based on the First-Fit algorithm which is considered as one of the most basic bin-packing resolution methods.