Chapter 3

TPC
1

WATER TRANSPORTION  Water based transportation was one of

the earliest known forms of transport
known to man.
Water Transport  Today it is a giant industry and water-
based tourism and activities are
 the process of moving people, freight amongst the most popular
and mails by barge, boat, ship, or
sailboat over a sea, ocean, lake, canal,
and river or by other types of water History of Water
transportation.
 an important mode of transport.
Transportation
 the cheapest means of transporting
bulky and perishable goods over long  Water transport can be undertaken
distances. either along inland rivers and canals or
 primarily used for the carriage of across oceans.
people, perishable and-perishable  This distinction is pertinent since the
goods which are generally referred to two types have different backgrounds
as cargo. and vary in importance.
 Rivers, if naturally navigable, have
Water Transportation and
always been used for transport for
Tourism many years ago, but only during the
last two hundred years have canals
 Water transport is a huge part of been specially constructed on a large
tourism and travel. scale (although both Egypt and China
 known as maritime transport, fluvial do have canals dating back more than
transport or waterborne transport, it 2000 years).
refers to the transportation of people  Britain pioneered inland water
or cargo via waterways. transport but now has little use for it,
owing amongst other factors to the
 Societies have always located near narrowness and shortness of her
water, due partly to the fact that water canals.
enables more efficient travel  Up to the middle of the last century,
compared to going over land. ocean transport was almost entirely
 Waterways are critically important to dependent upon sailing craft, and
the transportation of people and goods journeys were consequently slow and
throughout the world. laborious.
 The complex network of connections  Ships too were unsophisticated and
between coastal ports, inland ports, could be divided merely into two
rail, air, and truck routes forms a groups: warship and merchantmen.
foundation of material economic  Coal powered, subsequently, oil-
wealth worldwide. powered vessels were introduced and
 Water Transportation and Tourism ships became more specialized in
have been interlinked ever since the function.
beginning of time.  Apart from liners (for passengers),
merchant shipping now comprises
 Chapter 3
TPC
1
cargo-liners including containers ships,  Travelling by ferry is often much more
tramps, coastal craft, and tankers. affordable than flying.
 Sizes too have increased especially for  Cruise ships are purely recreational; in
oil tankers which today carry as much the past, cruise ships provided a way
as 500,000 tones dead weight of travelling from one country to
another in order to relocate or take a
Water Transportation Vehicles holiday when you got there, cruises
now are a holiday in them.
Water vehicles are suitable for long-  Bigger than ferries, they tend to offer
distance travel, commuting, cruising, racing, 1-2 week trips where passengers visit
and off- road riding. multiple locations as well as enjoying
on-board entertainment.
 Motorboat  So while they do provide movement of
 Cargo ship people, they are more of an overall
 Speedboat experience than typical 'transport'.
 Sailboat  Small river cruises are used for
 Yacht passengers.
 Ferry  Venice has water taxis as well as the
 Canoe vaporetto - a water bus.
 Raft boat
 Battleship  Water transport usage for cargo.
 Cruise ship
 Jet ski  Bulk carriers and container ships are
 Windsurfer two important types of water
 Riverboat transport;
 Submarine  They are used to transport cargo from
 Tug boat (usually) one country to another.
 It is often much cheaper to transport
What is water transport used heavy goods by water than it is by air
or road.
for?
 Water transport for military use.
 Water transport usage in passengers.
 The military operate at sea, too.
 Passengers use water transport for  Whether it's the Royal Navy in the UK,
recreation and commuting. the US Navy or one of many other
 Ferries can be used to team travel global naval forces, water transport is
between different areas with relative used.
ease.
 The ferry is used by many commuters Advantages and Disadvantages
from Wirral who work in Liverpool. of Water Transport
 At non-peak times, the ferry is used a
tourist attraction for leisure purposes.
 Ferries also travel between countries
and islands.
 Chapter 3
TPC
1
Advantages of Water Transport 4. Canals are costly to build, maintain, and
dredge, and also follows inflexible and
1. It involves a low running cost which makes circuitous routes. An adequate supply of
it the cheapest form of transport system over water may be difficult to obtain and the
long distances. limited dimensions of barges may be too
small for modern requirements.
2. Large vessels especially run economically
since fuel costs can be spread over greater Types of Water Transport
quantities. Distance does not add greatly to
total transport costs. There are two major types of water
transportation:
3. It has the capacity of conveying heavy and
bulky cargoes. 1. Inland water transport

4. Water transport has a natural route 2. Ocean water transport

network that is free to use. This allows
flexibility of service, frequency of movement,
and little congestion (except where water
channels are narrow.

5. Canals provide good access along their

line sides and also encourage the
development of industry and commerce.
Some towns have grown largely through
their connection with canals. For instance,
Stour port. Inland Water Transport
6. It causes relatively little environmental The inland water transport is the
pollution, but sometimes oil discharge from system of transport through all navigable
tankers seems to be the major problem to rivers, lakes, and man-made canals.
this mode of transportation.
Many large rivers in different parts of
Disadvantages of Water the world are used by ships and barges for
Transport transportation.

1. This mode of transportation is very slow  Rivers

compared to road transport hence; it is  Rivers are a natural waterway
unsuitable for perishable goods and urgent which can be used as a means
cargoes. of transport.
 They are suitable for small
2. There may be delays at locks and docks, boats as well as big barrages.
while navigation may be impeded majorly  River transport played a very
due to poor weather conditions. important role prior to the
development of modern means
3. It is unsuitable for short distance journeys of land transport.
since transshipment is both costly and time-  Their importance has gradually
consuming. declined on account of more
 Chapter 3
TPC
1
reliable and cheaper transport be adjusted to individual
services offered by the railways. requirements.
 Canals  Safety:
 They are artificial waterways  The risks of accidents and
made for the purpose of breakdowns, in this form of
irrigation or navigation or both. transport, are minimum as
 Canal transport requires a huge compared to any other form of
amount of capital investment in transport.
construction and maintenance  Environment Friendly:
of its track i.e., the artificial  There is lesser pollution in water
waterways. transport.
 The cost of the canal transport
is, therefore, higher than that of Disadvantages:
river transport.  Slow:
 To add to it, the cost of  Speed of Inland water transport
providing water for the canals is is very slow and therefore this
also a very big problem of canal mode of transport is unsuitable
transport. where time is an important
 Lakes factor.
 Lakes can be either natural like  Limited Area of Operation:
rivers or artificial like canals.  It can be used only in a limited
area which is served by deep
Advantages: canals and rivers.
 Low Cost:  Seasonal Character:
 Rivers are a natural highway  Rivers and canals cannot be
which does not require any cost operated for transportation
of construction and throughout the year as water
maintenance. may freeze during winter or
 Even the cost of construction water level may go very much
and maintenance of canals is down during summer.
much less or they are used, not  Unreliable:
only for transport purposes but  The inland water transport by
also for irrigation, etc. rivers is unreliable.
 Moreover, the cost of operation  Sometimes the river changes its
of the inland water transport is course which causes dislocation
very low. in the normal route of the trade.
 Thus, it is the cheapest mode of  Unsuitable for Small Business:
transport for carrying goods  Inland water transport by rivers
from one place to another. and canals is not suitable for
 Larger Capacity: small traders, as it takes
 It can carry much larger normally a longer time to carry
quantities of heavy and bulky goods from one place to
goods such as coal and timber. another through this form of
 Flexible Service: transport.
 It provides much more flexible
service than railways and can
 Chapter 3
TPC
1
Ocean Water Transport  They are, usually, a collection of
vessels under one ownership,
Ocean transport has been playing a i.e., a fleet.
significant role in development of economic,  They provide a uniform and
social and cultural relations among countries regular service.
of the world.  Liners sail on scheduled dates
and time, whether full of cargo
International trade owes its growth to ocean or not.
transport. Ocean transport enjoys a pride of
place in aiding international trade. There are two types of liners, namely:

Cheapness is its great virtue. In the  Passenger liners

transportation of low-grade, bulky goods  Cargo liners.
among the countries, the role of ocean
transport is commendable.  Tramps
 Tramps are ships which have no fixed
Types of Ocean Transport routes.
 They have no set rules or rate
Ocean transport may be divided into two schedule. Usually, they do not sail till
broad categories: they have full cargo.
 Coastal Shipping:  They can be chartered by exporters
 It is one of the most important and are ready to sail anywhere and at
means of transport for carrying any time.
goods from one part to another  They are not as fast in speed as liners.
in a country.  Tramps are more suitable to carry
 It is a cheaper and quicker seasonal and bulky goods.
mode of transport and is most
suitable for carrying heavy,  Tankers
bulky and cheap traffic like coal,  Tankers are the vessels which
iron ore, etc. to distant places. are specially designed to carry
 But it can serve only limited oil, petrol and such other
areas. liquids.
 Overseas Shipping:  They have a large capacity, 2 to
 It means the passengers' and 3 lakh tons of oil, and very
goods have to cross ocean. shortly, we may have super
 Example India export goods to tankers with a capacity of about
America. 10 lakh tons of oil.

Advantages:

There are three types of vessels employed in  It operates on a natural track as sea
the overseas shipping: provides a readymade 'road bed' for
the ships to sail. Hence, it does not
 Liners require huge amount of capital
 Liners are the ships which have investment in the construction and
regular fixed routes, time and maintenance of its track.
charges.
 Chapter 3
TPC
1
 Due to the smooth surface of sea, sterns, allowing them to shuttle
comparatively less tractive power is back and forth between two
required for its operation which results terminals without having to turn
in a lesser cost of operation. Thus, it is around.
the cheapest mode of transport.  Well-known double-ended ferry
 It has the largest carrying capacity as systems include the BC Ferries,
compared to any other transport. and the Staten Island Ferry.
 The risk of damage in transit of the  Hydrofoil
goods is also less as compared to  Hydrofoil, underwater fin with a
other modes of transport. But the flat or curved wing like surface
goods are exposed to the 'perils of that is designed to lift a moving
sea'. boat or ship by means of the
 It is the only suitable mode of reaction upon its surface from
transport for carrying heavy and bulky the water through which it
goods to distant places. moves.
 It is indispensable to foreign trade.  Ships that use hydrofoils, or
foils, are themselves called
Ferry hydrofoil. It has the advantage
of higher cruising speeds.
 Hovercraft
 A ferry is a merchant vessel used to  A hovercraft, also known as an
carry passengers, and sometimes air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an
vehicles and cargo, across a body of amphibious craft capable of
water. travelling over land, water,
 A passenger ferry with many stops, mud, ice, and other surfaces.
such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes  Hovercraft use blowers to
called a water bus or water taxi. produce a large volume of air
 Ferries form a part of the public below the hull, or air cushion,
transport systems of many waterside that is slightly above
cities and islands, allowing direct atmospheric pressure
transit between points at a capital cost  Catamaran
much lower than bridges or tunnels.  A catamaran/ informally, a "cat"
 Ship connections of much larger is a multi-hulled watercraft
distances (such as over long distances featuring two parallel hulls of
in water bodies like the Mediterranean equal size.
Sea) may also be called ferry services,  It is a geometry-stabilized craft,
especially if they carry vehicles. deriving its stability from its
wide beam, rather than from a
Types of Ferry
ballasted keel as with a
Ferry designs depend on the length of
monohull boa
the route, the passenger or vehicle capacity
 Roll-on/roll-off
required, speed requirements and the water
 Roll-on/roll-off ferries (RORO)
conditions the craft must deal with.
are large conventional ferries
 Double-ended named for the ease by which
 Double-ended ferries have vehicles can board and leave.
interchangeable bows and  Cruiseferry / RoPax
 Chapter 3
TPC
1
 A cruiseferry is a ship that or both of the front and rear to
combines the features of a give access to the wharves.
cruise ship with a roll-on/roll-off  Foot ferry
ferry.  ferries are small craft used to
 They are also known as RoPax ferry foot passengers, and often
for their combined Roll on/Roll also cyclists, over rivers.
Off and passenger design.  These are either self-propelled
 Fast RoPax ferry craft or cable ferries.
 Fast RoPax ferries are  Such ferries are for example to
conventional ferries with a large be found on the lower River
garage intake and a relatively Scheldt in Belgium and in
large passenger capacity. particular the Netherlands.
 Cabins, if existent, are much  Cable ferry
smaller than those on cruise  very short distances may be
ships. crossed by a cable or chain
 Turntable Ferry ferry, where the ferry is
 This type of ferry allows propelled along and steered by
vehicles to load from the "side". cables connected to each shore.
 The vehicle platform can be  Sometimes the cable ferry is
turned. human powered by someone on
 When loading, the platform is the boat.
turned sideways to allow
sideways loading of vehicles.
 Then the platform is turned
back, in line with the vessel,
and the journey across water is
made.
 Pontoon ferry
 Pontoon ferries carry vehicles
across rivers and lakes and are
widely used in less- developed
countries with large rivers
where the cost of bridge
construction is prohibitive.
 Cable ferries are usually
pontoon ferries, but pontoon
ferries on larger rivers are
motorised and able to be
steered independently like a
boat.
 Train ferry
 A train ferry is a ship designed
to carry railway vehicles.
 Typically, one level of the ship is
fitted with railway tracks, and
the vessel has a door at either