A decision support system approach for criteria weighting in ship evaluation and selection

The multi-dimensional nature of the ship evaluation and selection problem and the imprecise and subjective characteristics of the human decision making process make it difficult for the decision maker to consistently determine the relative importance of the criteria in a given situation. As a result, inconsistent criteria weightings are often produced, leading to unreliable decisions being made in selecting the most suitable ship for a specific shipping task. This chapter presents a decision support system approach for effectively assisting the decision maker in determining the criteria weightings in ship evaluation and selection. An example is presented for demonstrating the applicability of the approach for criteria weighting in the ship evaluation and selection process.