A fuzzy screening system for effectively solving maritime shipping problems

This paper presents a fuzzy screening system for effectively solving maritime shipping problems. The inherent subjectiveness and imprecision of the evaluation process is modeled by using linguistic terms characterized by triangular fuzzy numbers. A new algorithm based on the concept of the positive and negative ideal solutions is developed to avoid the complex and unreliable process of comparing fuzzy numbers usually required in fuzzy multicriteria decision making. An expert system is proposed to facilitate the evaluation and selection process. A maritime shipping problem is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.