- barges are flat ships that are designed to carry large and heavy loads mainly along canals and rivers. For the most part, the barge cannot move independently, and therefore it needs a tug. Even at the beginning of the industrial revolution, barges were transported with the help of people or special animals used along with by rail. After some time, the barges left the race due to the laboriousness, as well as the high cost of transportation.
Docks, ports, shipyards and piers are distinguished in the infrastructure serving water transport. In ports, ships are loaded and unloaded, technical inspection of water transport is carried out in the dock, and repair of watercraft takes place there.
Despite the widespread development and spread of road, rail and air water transport still remains one of the popular ways to move people and goods. What are the reasons for the popularity water transport and what is its advantage over faster counterparts?
Distribution and reasons for the popularity of water transport
If we are talking about the transportation of goods, then the very low cost of transportation by this type of transport and its ability to transport goods of any size are important, which is beyond the power of any of the other three competitors. At the same time, in the case of competent training of employees in logistics, the processes of unloading and unloading ships in ports can be made quite fast and efficient, further reducing the cost of transportation. Besides, water transport indispensable where overland transportation is impossible - between continents and islands.
The low speed of water transport has almost wiped out business passenger transportation, but the romance of sea travel fanned by centuries has contributed to the development of a separate branch of water transport, such as travel on cruise ships. Yes, and small water transport, yachts, boats and boats are well-deservedly popular with outdoor enthusiasts.
Types of water transport
All water transport is divided into two large groups according to the water areas used - river and sea. In turn, within each of these groups, all ships, according to the type of cargo carried, are divided into cargo and passenger.
Sea transport
This group includes all ships capable of moving on the surface of the seas and oceans and performing the functions of transporting goods or passengers. The share of maritime transport accounts for the lion's share of the world's cargo transportation, especially bulky and liquid cargo, such as oil, oil products, liquefied gas and chemical products. The main two groups of cargo ships are tankers, for the carriage of liquid cargo and container ships, which carry all other cargoes in universal 20- or 40-foot containers. Less common are more highly specialized sea vessels adapted for transportation, for example. vehicles, cattle or frozen foods. The difficulties encountered in the operation of this type of water transport lie in the need to build large ports equipped with a large number of loading and unloading systems. But with a proper and modern approach to logistics, all these problems are easily solved, making maritime transport in capable hands one of the most profitable enterprises in the world.
Passenger maritime transport is divided into line ships carrying passengers along strictly defined routes, this group includes ferries plying both between different ports of one of the continents and transoceanic ones, and a cruise fleet, each of the ships of which is a city in miniature. Cruise ships capable of carrying several thousand passengers, providing them with the most high level comfort and safety. A cruise on such a liner leaves an unforgettable experience!
And of course, do not forget about the huge army of private yacht owners, from miniature boats that can hardly accommodate two or three people, to giant billionaire yachts, in terms of amenities that are not inferior to cruise ships. The centuries-old romance of sea voyages, sung in novels about great captains and brave pirates, pulls hundreds and thousands of modern amateur sailors into the sea! All these ships and boats also belong to maritime water transport.
River water transport
This group of water transport includes all ships carrying passengers or goods on inland waterways - rivers, lakes or canals. True, there is one interesting exception - although the Caspian Sea is a lake, but because of its size, ships plying from its shores are classified as maritime transport.
The main advantage of river transport is its low cost, so it is widely used, especially in Western Europe, where France, Belgium and Holland are connected by a wide and extensive network of canals, through which hundreds of special small cargo ships - peniche ply. But due to the low speed of transportation, it is used river transport for the transportation of goods that do not require urgent delivery.
And if in ancient times and in the Middle Ages river boats were very popular among passengers, even among high-ranking ones, such as Egyptian pharaohs and the ancient Slavic princes, who even went on their last journey on special ones, then in our time, alas, this type of transport is not at all popular with passengers. The reason is the low speed. If you use ships that can compete in speed with railway or by car, for example, on an air cushion, then here the fuel consumption increases many times and makes the use of these ships unprofitable.
But there is another area in which river boats have found their recognition these days - these are sightseeing boats plying along rivers and canals. European capitals and many beautiful medieval towns. It is impossible to imagine Prague, Venice, Paris or Amsterdam without these, so beloved by tourists and very comfortable river boats. A walk on such a boat, accompanied by an interesting story of the guide and an exquisite buffet table, leaves an unforgettable impression!
Maritime transport is important primarily because it provides a significant part of Russia's foreign trade relations. Domestic transportation(cabotage) are essential only for supplying northern and east coasts countries. The share of maritime transport in cargo turnover is 8%, although the mass of transported goods is less than 1% of the total. This ratio is achieved through the longest average transportation distance is about 4.5 thousand km. Passenger transportation by sea is negligible.
On a global scale maritime transport ranks first in terms of cargo turnover, standing out for the minimum transport of goods. In Russia, it is relatively underdeveloped, since the main economic centers of the country are far from the sea coasts. In addition, most of the seas surrounding the country's territory are freezing, which increases the cost of using maritime transport. A serious problem is country's outdated navy. Most of the ships were built over 20 years ago and should be scrapped by world standards. Virtually no ships modern types: gas carriers, lighter carriers, container carriers, ro-ro ships, etc. There are only 11 large seaports on the territory of Russia, which is not enough for a country of such magnitude. About half of the Russian cargoes going by sea are served by the ports of other states. These are mainly the ports of the former Soviet republics: Odessa (Ukraine), Ventspils (Latvia), Tallinn (Estonia), Klaipeda (Lithuania). The use of seaports of other states leads to financial losses. To solve this problem, new ports are being built on the coasts of the Baltic and Black Seas.
The leading sea basin in Russia in terms of cargo turnover is currently the Far East. Its main ports are rarely frozen Vladivostok and Nakhodka. Near Nakhodka, a modern port Vostochny was built with terminals for the export of coal and timber. The port of Vanino, located on the final section of the Baikal-Amur Railway, is also of great importance. A ferry operates in this port, connecting the railway network of mainland Russia with the network of Sakhalin Island (the port of Kholmsk).
In second place in terms of cargo turnover is the Northern Basin. The main ports in it are: Murmansk (non-freezing, although located beyond the Arctic Circle) and Arkhangelsk (timber export, both sea and river). Large ports also operate at the mouth of the Yenisei. These are Dudinka, through which ore concentrates are exported from Norilsk, and Igarka, through which timber and forest products are transported. The section of the Northern Sea Route between the mouth of the Yenisei and Murmansk is open all year round, which is ensured by the use of powerful icebreakers, including nuclear ones. Navigation east of the mouth of the Yenisei is carried out only 2-3 months in the summer
The third largest is the Baltic basin. The main ports in it are St. Petersburg (freezing) and Kaliningrad (non-freezing). The use of the convenient Kaliningrad port is difficult, since it is separated from the main part of Russia by the territories of foreign states. Near St. Petersburg there is a small port of Vyborg, through which mainly timber cargoes go. The ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk are under construction.
In fourth place in terms of cargo turnover is the Cheriosea-Azov basin. Two non-freezing oil export ports are located here - Novorossiysk (the most powerful in Russia) and Tuapse. Maritime transport also includes transportation in the Caspian Sea. The largest here are the ports of Astrakhan (both sea and river) and Makhachkala, through which mainly oil cargoes go.
River transport
River transport (or inland waterways) was the leader in Russia late XIX V. At present, its significance is small - about 2% of cargo turnover and the mass of transported goods. Although this is a cheap mode of transport, it has serious disadvantages. The main one is that the directions of river flow often do not coincide with the directions of cargo transportation. Expensive canals have to be built to connect neighboring river basins. On the territory of Russia, river transport is a seasonal mode of transport, since the rivers freeze for several months a year. Total length navigable river routes in Russia is 85 thousand km. 3/4 of the goods currently transported by river transport in Russia are mineral building materials. Passenger transportation by river transport is insignificant, as well as by sea.
More than half of the cargo turnover of the country's river transport falls on the Volga-Kama basin. It is connected by canals with neighboring basins (Don, Neva, Northern Dvina, White Sea), being the basis of the Unified deep-water system of the European part of the country. The largest river ports are also located here: Nizhny Novgorod, Northern, Southern and Western in Moscow, Kazan, Samara, Volgograd, Astrakhan. The second place in terms of cargo turnover is occupied by the West Siberian basin, which includes the Ob with tributaries. In it, in addition to building materials, a significant share in transportation is oil cargo. The main ports are Novosibirsk, Tobolsk, Surgut, Labytnangi, Tyumen. The third in Russia is the basin of the Northern Dvina with tributaries of the Sukhona and Vychegda. In it, a significant share in transportation is timber cargo. The main ports are Arkhangelsk and Kotlas.
River transport is of great importance in the northeastern part of Russia, where there are virtually no networks of other modes of transport. The main amount of cargo is delivered to these territories in the summer either from the south of the railway (via the Yenisei from Krasnoyarsk, along the Lena from Ust-Kut), or from river mouths, where cargo is delivered by sea.
One of the convenient modes of transportation from one side to the other is water transport. And many began to forget about him, and young people do not even know how to distinguish sea transport from river and what is its purpose.
In fact, this type of movement of goods and people has a great advantage over trains or planes. For example, on water transport, you can carry quite a heavy load that an airplane cannot pull. At the same time, if everything is properly organized, then unloading the cargo will also be much faster than unloading from the train. Another plus of such transport is that in places where continents or transportation between islands are located, land transport will not pass, and water transport will easily deliver cargo or passengers, but the minus of such water transport is its speed, so now few people agree to passenger transportation, but still there are those who do not forget about this romance and go on cruises on liners.
A cruise ship
All this transport is divided into two categories - sea and river, and already within these categories the vessels are divided into passenger water transport and cargo.
Water maritime transport
This category includes ships that easily move across the oceans and seas (cargo and passenger). Such ships transport oil and its products or compressed gas, etc. Such transport includes tankers and container ships that are capable of carrying quite a heavy load.
A passenger transport moves along a certain path and carries passengers. The category of passenger water transport also includes ferries, yachts and cruise liners.
Water river transport
Category river water transport you can include those ships that transport people and cargo through canals, lakes or rivers. A big plus of such transport is its low price, so it is very widely used. But river transport also has a minus and it is identical to sea transport - this is low speed.
River transport Of course, there are ships that are not inferior to land or air transport, but it will take twice as much money, so they are considered unprofitable and are not released into the sea. Such expensive transport can be used by people who do not have financial problems, so it is not suitable for ordinary passenger traffic.
In the Middle Ages, such ships were popular even among people with a high rank, pharaohs could be transported to their last let or princes in order to get to another state, but now people have begun to forget about the romance that is in the sea, the sunsets that go beyond the horizon, plunging into the depths of the sea.
The most common water transport in given time- sightseeing ships that ply along canals or rivers. So if you happen to be in Venice, Paris or Prague, take the time to board one of these ships. You will not regret it, because the boat trip will be accompanied by the guide's stories, and will leave a lot of positive emotions and memories in your heart.
Water transport is a type of transport that is used for freight and passenger transportation by waterways. These can be either natural (rivers, lakes, seas and oceans) or artificial (canals, reservoirs) waterways. The ship is used as the main transport.
The history of water transport begins with Ancient Egypt. Up to the second half of XIX century when transcontinental railways, the most important mode of transport was water (both river and sea). And today, this type of transport occupies an important role: from 60 to 67% of the world cargo turnover falls on river and sea vessels.
Nautical vessel of the ancient world.
Ship device
In the classical concept, water transport is a ship, boat, yacht. But the category of ships also includes kayaks, inflatable boats, barges, catamarans, hovercraft, as well as drilling rigs, ekranoplanes, ekranoplanes, seaplanes.
For most sea and river vessels, there are a number of common structural elements:
- Frame
- Superstructures, cabins
- Vessel power plants
- Ship devices
- Vessel systems and piping
- Equipment and electrical equipment of premises
Part of the ship's hull
But there are also distinctive features for some categories of ships, such as ekranoplan and seaplane. For the most part, the structures are aircraft, only their hull is made according to the principle of a boat.
A ship's hull is a watertight shell that allows a ship to float on water. The tip of the body is equipped with beams, which are called stems. A stem is a beam that is installed in the bow of the ship's hull. Also, not stems, but end vertical walls can be installed at the extremities - they are equipped with towing or pusher ships. The ship's hull is usually made of steel.
Passenger ships have decks, river and mixed navigation, have one deck - the main one. Marine passenger ships are distinguished by the presence of several decks - the upper (main), middle, lower. Large passenger ships sailing on the lakes have two decks.
To make the ship unsinkable, its hull is divided by internal watertight transverse bulkheads. This results in several rooms - compartments.
Use of watercraft
River transport
Depending on the water area in which this type of transport is used, river and sea transport are distinguished.
The first type of water transport is also called IWT (inland water transport). These are vessels that carry out cargo and passenger transportation along inland waterways - rivers, canals, reservoirs, lakes.
By river transport ancient history. Also in Ancient Egypt built river ships, rowing or sailing type. Later, they used the traction of horses or people (barge haulers) who walked along the shore. In the 19th century, the first river steamboats appeared. And in 1903, the history of the ship begins - this ship was built in Russia and became part of the river fleet.
In cargo transportation, river vessels occupy an important place. Despite such shortcomings as seasonal operation and low speed (from 10 to 20 kilometers per hour), water freight transport is beneficial due to the fact that the cost of transportation is quite low. There are self-propelled vessels and barges - the second type of river vessels is not self-propelled, a tugboat is used for pushing. On self-propelled river transport, either trucks with one or another cargo or containers are transported - such vessels are called river container ships. Barges carry either liquid bulk cargo (eg petroleum products or crude oil) or bulk cargo (eg grain, coal, sand).
In passenger traffic, river vessels occupy a relatively small share. This is due to the fact that the usual speed of such transport reaches 20-30 kilometers per hour, which is why a river boat cannot compete with faster buses and trains. With the help of so-called hydrofoils and an air cushion, the speed of ships can be increased to 80 kilometers per hour. However, in this case, the cost of transportation increases significantly - due to the high fuel consumption. But recently, more and more hovercraft (Hovercraft) for transporting people began to appear on the rivers. The SVP has amphibious properties, so the vessel does not need specially equipped berths. In the spring thaw, this is the only transport capable of transporting people and goods from one coast to another.
Hovercraft SVP-50
River passenger ships are used for tourist cruises or for transporting passengers to places that are not connected by land transport.
Sea transport
Maritime transport is vessels moving across the seas, oceans and adjacent water areas, capable of maintaining buoyancy, as well as serving passengers and participating in various cargo operations.
The largest share of world freight traffic falls on maritime transport. In terms of traffic, the first place is occupied by a variety of liquid cargoes: vegetable oil, liquid products of the chemical industry, crude oil and products of its processing.
The second place in terms of cargo transportation is occupied by container transportation. Specialized ships, called container ships, have become an alternative to their predecessors - universal ships. This is due to the fact that in an ordinary container (20-foot or 40-foot) you can transport various goods - both small and large enough, like cars.
Bulk carrier
There are other types of maritime transport:
- Lighter carriers
- Vessels for the transport of livestock
- Heavy ships
- Towing vessels
- Refrigerators
- Bulk carriers for the transport of bulk cargoes - e.g. coal, grain, sand
Some ships move on schedule between several seaports following a certain route. These are linear ships - passenger, cargo, as well as ferries.
Other vessels are not tied to specific geographical points and transport passing and random cargo, this type of sea transport is called tramp. When carrying out tramp cargo transportation, a so-called charter contract is carried out, in which both the carrier (charterer) and the sender of the cargo participate. Trump shipping is carried out in cases where it is necessary to carry out the transportation of piece low-value cargo.
Mixed is also known - in relation to waterways- a type of water transport. Such vessels can navigate both rivers and lakes, as well as seas and oceans.
For river transport, as well as ships plying along the Northern Sea Route, seasonality is typical. Freight transport by water transport is the cheapest, but is tied to geographical objects. In the implementation of intercontinental cargo transportation, water transport is used, because the delivery of goods by air is too expensive, and the carrying capacity of aircraft is significantly lower than that of a sea vessel.
Examples of VT and a brief description
Modern water transport can be divided into sports vessels, cargo and passenger vessels. Sports courts preserve the traditions that came from antiquity, such as kayaks, canoes, sailboats, rowing boats. Often, the manufacture of such water products is a real art; as a result of the work of masters, unique works are created. But since the beginning of the 20th century, motorized vehicles have become a mass type of water transport - steam engines were replaced by gasoline (in motor boats) and diesel engines.
Features of VT, the main differences from other types of vehicles.
There are many types of water transport. There are small vessels (most often personal), medium and large vessels. First of all, it is worth noting personal vessels - boats, motor boats, yachts.
Blohm & Voss GOLDEN ODYSSEY II
Personal water transport is used for various purposes: fishing, tourism, recreation, various events. For recreation and tourism, such vessels as motor boats and boats are used. Fishing enthusiasts use inflatable motor boats. Yachts are used for events.
Unlike boats, whose engines are stationary, easily removable outboard gasoline engines are installed on motor boats. Also, motor boats usually have oarlocks for oars, which can be useful if for some reason the boat's engine has failed, or it is necessary to make silent (or slow) movements.
For distant hiking trips transport and tourist motor boats are used along the rivers. These ships carry both passengers and their luggage. The hulls of such motor boats are made of a light metal material - aluminum or its alloy with magnesium.
It is interesting to note that many types of motor boats are gliding type water transport - such vessels can slide on the surface of the water and in this way safely pass shallow water areas. In order for the motor power to be sufficient for the transition to planing, the motorboat must be moderately loaded.
Motor boats are used for hunting, fishing, tourism and recreation, as well as search and rescue operations. Depending on the scope of application, the dimensions of such a vessel, as well as its bypass, differ. For example, sports motor boats are small in size and weight and have a hull contour that allows you to move at high speed.
Boats were originally called light ships with one mast. Today, this is the name given to small ships equipped with a stationary engine. In the Soviet Union, a boat of the Amur type was produced for retail sale to a wide range of customers. Today, LLC Tom is engaged in the production of boats. This shipbuilding company produces both boats themselves with a light aluminum hull and trailers for transporting these vessels.
Boats are used for water walks and recreation, water tourism, fishing, hunting, as well as sporting events. In addition to a stationary motor, boats are usually equipped with jet-type propulsion. It is the jet propulsion that allows the boat to enter the planing mode and easily overcome shallow sections of the river.
Advantages and disadvantages of water transport
Cargo transportation by water transport has a number of significant advantages:
- The capacity of maritime trade routes is practically unlimited.
- The presence of a single legal and legal field with a 400-year history
- The cost of such transportation is quite low.
- High carrying capacity, thanks to which the vessel can be transported a large number of cargo
These advantages, especially the last one, are especially important for intercontinental transportation of large quantities of cargo (for example, oil or oil products). At the same time, water transport has a number of serious drawbacks:
- The ship is moving at a relatively slow speed.
- It is necessary to have specially equipped port facilities
- The construction of ships and ports requires serious financial costs
Motor boats are a very popular type of small water transport, due to a number of advantages:
- Such small boats are cheaper than yachts and boats
- Simple design
- Management is simple, so that a motor boat can be driven by persons without special education
- The service life is long, due to the possibility of storing the vessel on shore
- speed
- It is possible to ensure the safe parking of the vessel near the unprepared shore
- The motorboat can be transported by car by installing it on a special trailer
- Due to the fact that the engine is outboard, it is easy to remove and replace it; also, if necessary, the motor can be removed and ensured its safe storage
Also, motor boats have disadvantages:
- Low payloads
- Small volume of cabins (living space)
- The outboard engines of these boats are uneconomical compared to stationary boat engines.
Ways of evolution of BT
The first large ships were built in ancient Egypt, wood was used as a structural material. On the ships, a simple sail was installed, catching a fair wind. If there was no tailwind, the rowers' power was used.
In the 15th century, large sea vessels with several sails appeared. IN early XIX century, the first steamboat was built, used as a river vessel. Metal - iron - began to be used as a material for the hull of such a ship. And the driving energy is steam. The next stage in the development of water technology was the discovery, made in 1876 by Nicholas Otto, of an internal combustion engine running on gasoline. It was internal combustion engines that began to appear more and more massively on boats, yachts, ferries, and ships. To date, this is the main engine, but not the only one installed on the VT. Another stage in the development of technology was the rapid development of the petrochemical industry. At the moment, many water vessels are made of plastics of polymeric materials. Firstly, plastics and polymers are lighter than metal, secondly, they are either close in strength, the same or stronger than metal alloys, and thirdly, they are corrosion resistant.
At the moment, the ekranoplan, hovercraft and planing boats are of the greatest interest from water technology. they develop the highest speeds. The ekranoplan is the fastest, it can achieve screen flight speeds of up to 700 km / h. It is also distinguished by absolute smoothness of motion and allows you to overcome small obstacles (isthmus, shallow). The only drawback is its high power-to-weight ratio for transferring the machine and maintaining it in screen flight mode, which leads to high fuel consumption. The hovercraft and the boat have a lower speed, up to about 150 km / h, the smoothness of the VSP is also at the level of the ekranoplan, but the smoothness of the boat suffers, but the SVP and the boat spend much less fuel compared to the ekranoplan.
At the moment, the crown of technical thought is the ekranoplan. With the development of new materials, and an increase in the efficiency of power units, ekranoplans may well replace private passenger air transportation. And in the future to become private funds for long haul and world travel, displacing yachts and cars.
