The Survival of the Fittest Route: Genetic Algorithms in Shipping and Sustainability

How can the study of ant colonies and evolutionary theory help us ensure the resilience and sustainability of global shipping?

In this episode, host Amelia Jabry is joined by Professor Adam Sobey (Mission Director for Sustainability at the Alan Turing Institute) and Senior Applied Scientist Dr. Przemyslaw (Slaw) Grudniewski from Theyr. Together, they explore the ‘evolution’ of shipping route optimisation - from early concepts proposed by Alan Turing to cutting-edge Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithms.

Discover how these ‘survival of the fittest’ models are being used to navigate the complex world of charter party agreements, fuel efficiency, and autonomous vessels. They also dive into the environmental impact of rerouting, discussing how a 1% change in fuel consumption can protect vital megafauna like whales, and what the melting Arctic means for the future of global trade.

Chapter Markers

0:30 | Co-Host Introduction: Professor Adam Sobey

Introduction of Adam Sobey, Mission Director for Sustainability at the Alan Turing Institute and Professor at the University of Southampton.

1:20 | Guest Introduction: Dr. Przemyslaw (Slaw) Grudniewski

Introduction of Slava, Senior Applied Scientist atTheyr

The history of Adam and Slava’s collaboration, starting from Slava's PhD in 2015.

4:30 | The Path to Genetic Algorithms

Why the team focused on genetic algorithms, including the influence of a talk at the University of Bristol on co-evolution mechanisms.

5:00 | Why Shipping Matters: The Ever Given Incident