# Comparative Studies of Major Sea Routes
## 3 Theoretical Basis of the Evaluation Sea Routes
### Steps of Research Methodology  
The following research methodology steps were used to conduct this study: sea route analysis, literature review, and data collection; mathematical model development; conducting calculations using a developed mathematical model; carrying out experiments on real ships using the AIS platform [18]; drawing up the discussions and conclusions (Figure 4). A mathematical model was created after a literature review and an analysis of sea routes and actual ship routes between Southeast Asia and Western Europe.  
The main sea routes are very important for the world economy, but at the same time, for various reasons, they are sometimes restricted or conditions arise when the normal sea routes cannot be used due to natural disasters or for other reasons; for example, the sea route through the Suez Canal being blocked due to political unrest in the Red Sea. In such cases, it is very important to find another sea route.  
Based on the presented principal methodology (Figure 4), a theoretical model of sea routes was created and experiments were carried out with real ships. Finally, the theoretical model was improved on the basis of real ships and the experimental results [18]. After determining the possible sea routes, the main factors--transportation costs, transportation time, possible maximum ship parameters (mainly draft), request (use) of transportation  
Figure 4: The algorithm of the research methodology.  
energy (fuel), and other possible factors, such as the probability of the restrictions, were calculated to assess the different advantages and disadvantages of each sea route.  
The transportation costs are an important factor and market conditions are taken as a basis in transportation processes (transportation prices, which are not always based on the income-cost principle). Transportation time is important in many cases, but in modern production chains, when the arrival of components and other goods is precisely regulated, the transportation time and especially the accuracy of the arrival of goods in relation to time is particularly important. In all sea routes, the possible geometrical parameters of the ships are very important; in many cases, the maximum draft of the ships is possible. Energy consumption (fuel) of ships directly influences the price of transportation, and therefore, relatively lower energy consumption when transporting the same amount of cargo is an important factor and cargo owners and ship operators always pay close attention to this. Other factors, especially those that influence the transportation time, such as political unrest or military conflicts in individual parts of sea routes or difficult hydro-meteorological conditions in individual parts of sea routes, do not allow for the optimization of transportation processes. To evaluate the accuracy of the calculations and experimental results, the maximum distribution method was used using data obtained from real experiments. The maximum distribution method can be applied if at least five measurements of the sea routes' elements are taken.  
In order to verify the accuracy of theoretical calculations and the practical application of the developed methodology, the results of experiments obtained with the help of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) [18] of real ships were used.  
Then, the results were analyzed, discussions were planned, conclusions were prepared, and suggestions for further research were presented.