DESIGN OF WATER TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES Introduction of Water Transportation Water transport is movement by means of a watercraft—such as a barge, boat, ship or sailboat—over a body of water, such as a sea ocean, lake, canals or river. The need for buoyancy is common to watercraft, making the hull a dominant aspect of its construction, maintenance and appearance. The Evolution of Water transportation Water transportation has been a vital part of domestic and international trade and human exploration for thousands of years. The advent of seaworthy ships allowed people to circumnavigate the globe, expand their ranges, and take advantage of unprecedented opportunities. Societies are nearly always located near water, both for the resources it provides and because water transport is easier than traveling over land. Shipping vessels are still vitally important to this day for the affordable transport of goods around the globe. And in recent decades, especially, water transport has become an important part of tourism and recreation, from ocean cruising, to river cruises that take passengers down some of the planet’s most spectacular waterways. Some of the significant achievements in water transportation history highlighted in this infographic are: 1. The first sailing vessels, created more than 6,500 years ago. 2. The construction of dams in ancient Egypt 3. The advent of the first rudders in Asia 4. Nautical innovations by the Dutch 5. How steamboats changed transport in America 6. The creation of reliable submarines in the 19th century 7. The opening of the “Chunnel” between England and France in the early 1990s. Exploring the fascinating history of water transportation is a key part of understanding how societies have evolved over the millennia to accomplish some of humanity’s greatest feats. KINDS OF WATER TRANSPORTATION A. INLAND WATER TRANSPORT As shown in the chart, inland water transport consists of transport by rivers, canals and lakes. i. Rivers are a natural waterway which can be used as a means of transport. ii. Canals are artificial waterways made for the purpose of irrigation or navigation or both. iii. Lakes - can be either natural like rivers or artificial like canals.
Advantages of Inland Water Transportation 1. Low Cost Rivers are a natural highway which does not require any cost of construction and maintenance. Even the cost of construction and maintenance of canals is much less or they are used, not only for transport purposes but also for irrigation, etc. Moreover, the cost of operation of the inland water transport is very low. Thus, it is the cheapest mode of transport for carrying goods from one place to another. 2. Larger Capacity It can carry much larger quantities of heavy and bulky goods such as coal, and, timber etc. 3. Flexible Service It provides much more flexible service than railways and can be adjusted to individual requirements. 4. Safety The risks of accidents and breakdowns, in this form of transport, are minimum as compared to any other form of transport. Disadvantages of Inland Water Transportation 1. Slow Speed of Inland water transport is very slow and therefore this mode of transport is unsuitable where time is an important factor. 2. Limited Area of Operation It can be used only in a limited area which is served by deep canals and rivers. 3. Seasonal Character Rivers and canals cannot be operated for transportation throughout the year as water may freeze during winter or water level may go very much down during summer. 4. Unreliable The inland water transport by rivers is unreliable. Sometimes the river changes its course which causes dislocation in the normal route of the trade. 5. Unsuitable for Small Business Inland water transport by rivers and canals is not suitable for small traders, as it takes normally a longer time to carry goods from one place to another through this form of transport.
B. OCEAN TRANSPORT Ocean transport is indispensable for foreign trade. It has brought the different parts of the world closer and has knitted together all the nations of the world into one big world market. It operates on a natural track, the sea, and does not require any investment in the construction and maintenance of its track. It is, obviously, the cheapest mode of transport.
Ocean transport includes…
1. Coastal Shipping It is one of the most important means of transport for carrying goods from one part to another in a country. It is a cheaper and quicker mode of transport and is most suitable for carrying heavy, bulky and cheap traffic like coal, iron ore, etc. to distant places. But it can serve only limited areas. Earlier, coastal shipping in India was mainly in the hands of foreign shipping companies. But now from 1951 onwards, it is exclusively reserved for Indian ships.
2. Overseas Shipping There are three types of vessels employed in the overseas shipping: (i) Liners Liners are the ships which have regular fixed routes, time and charges. They are, usually, a collection of vessels under one ownership, i.e., a fleet. They provide a uniform and regular service. Liners sail on scheduled dates and time, whether full of cargo or not. (ii) Tramps Tramps are ships which have no fixed routes. They have no set rules or rate schedule. Usually, they do not sail till they have full cargo. They can be chartered by exporters and are ready to sail anywhere and at any time. They are not as fast in speed as liners. Tramps are more suitable to carry seasonal and bulky goods. (iii) Tankers Tankers are the vessels which are specially designed to carry oil, petrol and such other liquids. They have a large capacity, 2 to 3 lakh tons of oil, and very shortly, we may have super tankers with a capacity of about 10 lakh tons of oil.
(lakh-unit in the Indian Numbering System equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; Scientific notation: 105).
Advantages of Ocean Transport 1. It operates on a natural track as sea provides a readymade ‘road bed’ for the ships to sail. Hence, it does not require huge amount of capital investment in the construction and maintenance of its track. 2. Due to the smooth surface of sea, comparatively less tractive power is required for its operation which results in a lesser cost of operation. Thus, it is the cheapest mode of transport. 3. It has the largest carrying capacity as compared to any other transport. 4. The risk of damage in transit of the goods is also less as compared to other modes of transport. But the goods are exposed to the ‘perils of sea’. 5. It is the only suitable mode of transport for carrying heavy and bulky goods to distant places. 6. It is indispensable to foreign trade.
HARBOUR DOCK ENGINEERING The terms port, harbour and haven are more or less synonymous, but each of them also has specific meanings. Harbors and Ports are often confused with each other. HARBOUR (HARBOR) - A harbour is a place of security and comfort, a small bay or other sheltered part of an area of water, usually well protected against high waves and strong currents, and deep enough to provide safe anchorage for ships and other craft. - It is also a place where port facilities are provided, e.g. accommodation for ships and cargo handling facilities. A harbour may be natural or partly dug out, or even made with floating materials. It doesn't have gates, but may have a narrow entrance. Significance of Harbour 1. Sheltered Area 2. For Loading and Unloading of Cargo 3. Vessels are also built, repair and launch
DOCK -
A dock is dug out and usually has gates so that the water level is kept up even though the tide has gone out. - It is an artificially enclosed basin into which vessels are brought for inspection and repair. - A dock is a place, usually man-made area of enclosed water, where ships are loaded, unloaded or repaired. Originally, it denotes an area of water that can accommodate a ship and can be closed off by locks to allow regulation of the water level. - It also means a space between two wharves or piers for the mooring of ships, i.e. a dock basin. Often it can be interchanged with the terms wharf or pier. In US it often indicates a small landing pier for accommodating boats in a river or lake creek. Dry Dock - is a type of dock consisting of a rectangular basin dug into the shore of a body of water and provided with a removable enclosure wall or gate on the side toward the water, used for major repairs and overhaul of vessels. When a ship is to be docked, the dry dock is flooded, and the gate removed.
PORT -
The term port or seaport normally includes the harbour and the adjacent town or city suitable for loading goods and embarking men. It is also a facility for loading and unloading vessels.
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A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land. They are usually located in harbors. Port is a facility for receiving ships and transferring cargo. They are usually situated at the edge of an ocean, sea, river, or lake. Port Terminals - the word terminal refers to a complete port facility for accommodating, loading/discharge of ships and for the storage, stacking and handling of cargo on shore. (e.g. bulk cargo terminal, oil terminal, livestock terminal, etc.).
Inland Ports – are ports on a lake, river, or canal have access to a sea or ocean. Types of Ports 1. Fishing Port - is a type of port or harbor facility particularly suitable for landing and distributing fish. 2. Dry Port - is a term sometimes used to describe a yard used to place containers or conventional bulk cargo, usually connected to a seaport by rail or road. 3. Warm Water Port - is a port where the water does not freeze in winter. Because they are available year-round, warm water ports can be of great geopolitical or economic interest, with the ports of Saint Petersburg and Valdez being notable examples. 4. Port of Call - is an intermediate stop, for example to collect supplies or fuel.
PORT STRUCTURES 1. Wharfs or Quays Wharf - is the oldest term in English referring to port structures. It denotes any structure of timber, masonry, cement, or other material built along or at an angle to the navigable waterway, with sufficient depth of water to accommodate vessels and receive and discharge cargo or passengers. The term can be substituted for quay when applied to great solid structures in large ports. The area between the quay wall (made of solid masonry) and the nearby warehouse or storage facility is called the quay apron.
2. Piers and Jetties
Pier - is a construction work extending into the harbour with sufficient depth of water alongside to accommodate vessels, also used as a promenade or landing place for passengers. Jetty - is a small pier, usually made of timbers for boats, yachts or fishing boats (fisherman jetty), but it also refers to large ships. (tanker jetty, Tjetty).
3. Moles or Breakwaters Mole or Breakwater is a massive port structure made of masonry or large stone blocks laid in the sea to protect the harbor from waves and current. Sometimes, the terms jetty and pier are used to mean the same.
Classification of Harbour 1. NATURAL HARBOUR A natural harbor is surrounded on several sides by prominences of land. Examples of natural harbors include Sydney Harbour, Australia and San Francisco Bay, California.
2. SEMI NATURAL HARBOUR Same as natural but harbour needs some artificial and man made construction
3. ARTIFICIAL HARBOUR An artificial harbor has deliberately constructed breakwaters, sea walls,or jettys, or otherwise, they could have been constructed by dredging, and these require maintenance by further periodic dredging. An harbour having no natural protection but artificial arrangement are made to protect the harbour from storm and wind.
REQUIREMENTS OF A GOOD HARBOR 1. The depth of a harbor should be sufficient for every type of visiting ships. 2. The bottom of harbor should provide secured anchorage to hold the ships against high winds. 3. To prevent destructive wave action, break water are provided. 4. The entrance of a harbor should be wide enough to provide the easy passage of ships. DEFECTS IN HARBOR 1. Depth of water is found insufficient for different ships. 2. The size of harbor is found insufficient to accommodate the increased traffic. 3. Obstruction 4. These defects can easily be avoided at the time of planning and designing. SIZE OF A HARBOUR Size depends upon: a) number of ships b) length: 275m-300m c) width: 30m
HARBOUR PLANNING 1. It should be carried out after collecting necessary information of the existing features at the proposed site. 2. Following important facts should be studied. 3. A thorough survey of the neighborhood including the foreshore & depths of water is necessary 4. Nature of a harbor wether sheltered or not, be studied 5. The existance of sea insects & various animals residing at site. 6. Natural phenomena’s concerning planning of a harbour are: a) Storms
b) c) d) e)
Rainfall Range of tides Maximum & minimum temperatures Direction & intensity of wind etc
SITE SELECTION Following factors play a great role in the choice of site of a harbour. 1. Availability of cheap land & contruction material. 2. Natural protection from waves & winds 3. Transport and communication facilities 4. Industrial development of the locality 5. Sea bed,sub soil and foundation conditions 6. Avaibility of electrical energy 7. Defence and strategic aspects 8. Trafic potentiality of harbour
PORTS AND HARBOURS CONDUCT FOUR IMPORTANT/MAJOR FUNCTIONS: 1. Administrative - ensuring that the legal, socio-political and economic interests of the state and international maritime authorities are protected. 2. Development - ports are major promoters and instigators of a country’s or wider regional economy. 3. Industrial - major industries process the goods imported or exported in a port. 4. Commercial - ports are international trade junction points where various modes of transport interchange, loading, discharging, transit of goods.
FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF HARBOUR 1. HARBOR OF REFUGE The harbor used for ships in storms or emergency condition. Good anchorage and safe and easy access from the sea. 2. COMMERCIAL HARBOR Facilities for loading and unloading of cargo are provided. These may be: 1. Part of bigger complex harbor 2. Independent unit or single commodity harbor. 3. Terminal as oil terminal, coal port. 3. FISHERY HARBOR Provided for fishing crafts and trawlers. 4. MILITARY HARBOR OR NAVAL BASE This harbor is meant for accommodating naval crafts and serves as a supply deport. The layout of this type of harbor is greatly influenced by its location.
FEATURES OF A HARBOR
1. Entrance Channels a) Depth and width are kept more at entrance b) Width depends upon density of traffic and number of entrances
2. Berthing Basin and Turning Basin Berth - any place where a ship can safely lie alongside a quay, pier or dock, at anchor or a buoy, and where it can carry out loading/discharge operations or embark and disembark passengers. a) Berthing basins are used for the parking of ships b) While turning for the turning of ships
3. Break Water a) The structure constructed to protect harbor from storm waves b) They are generally stone masonry
4. Pier Head a) The structure provided at the tip of break water b) Such as light house
5. Wharves a) The structure constructed parallel to the shore or break water, having wide plate form at the top b) Function is to permit berthing of vessel along side for cargo working
6. Jetties a) Same as wharves b) Used for loading and unloading of cargo c) Made usually from shore towards sea water to prevent silting and dredging to allow free flow of tidal currents
MACHINES USED FOR TRANSPORT ON THE OCEAN AND WATERWAYS 1. Ships - including cruise ships and steamships. Steamships began to take over from sailing ships in the 1850s. They are used to transport passengers and freight across the seas and waterways.
2. Paddle-steamers These were mainly used to transport inland rivers. River transport declined 1880s but is still used in some areas
3. Ferries - including passenger ferries and car ferries.
4. Cargo ships - including container vessels, tankers and bulk carriers. These allow large amounts of freight to be transported across the ocean. The containers are large metal waterproof boxes which can be carried by train or semitrailer to the port. Oil and other liquids can be transported by ships called tankers.
5. Naval ships: are used to defend countries and in war.
products along from the today.
6. Hydrofoils - hovercrafts and catamarans: mainly used to transport people.
7. Speed boats and other pleasure craft are used for water-skiing and fishing and so on.
8. Houseboats - a boat that is or can be moored for use as a dwelling. It is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a home.
9. Submarines - mainly used in the
10. Boat-cars - such as the Aquada: A recent invention in 2003 that drives on both land and water.
navy.
