I just started to skim your thesis so I apologize if this is covered somewhere. Is it commonly understood that route optimizations for maritime transport are equivalent to automobile transport?
Maritime transport, specifically Tramp Ship Scheduling, is very similar to a taxi operation. Taxi logistics are known in literature as Pickup and Delivery Problems with Time Windows (PDPTW) -- which is an advanced type of VRPTW -- which, in turn, is more complex than the classic TSP.
To answer your question: mathematically, Tramp Shipping is a more advanced type of PDPTW, so they are almost equivalent.
We will support PDPTW on our API soon, but what I present here with Routific is but a subset of what I cover in my thesis: Multi-Depot Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows and Heterogenous Fleet with Shift Constraints (MDCVRPTWHFS -- so glad I did not pursue academia)
P.S.: in my thesis I also optimize the sailing speed of the ships, which -- as my thesis goes -- can save millions a year on top of an already optimized shipping fleet. The cubic relation between sailing speed and fuel consumption does not hold for vehicles on the road though.
