WATER TRANSPORTATION

Learning Objectives:
At the end of the chapter, the students can:
 Define water transport
 List and describe the uses of water transportation
 List the advantages of disadvantages of water transportation
 Differentiate the types of ocean transport
 Differentiate among the types of ferry

Water Transport
Water transport is defined as the process of moving people, freight and mails by barge, boat,
ship, or sailboat over a sea, ocean, lake, canal, and river or by other types of water transportation. It is
an important mode of transport. It is the cheapest means of transporting bulky and perishable goods
over long distances. This mode of transportation is primarily used for the carriage of people, perishable
and-perishable goods which are generally referred to as cargo.

Water Transportation and Tourism

Water transport is a huge part of tourism and travel. Otherwise known as maritime transport,
fluvial transport or waterborne transport, it refers to the transportation of people or cargo via
waterways.

Societies have always located near water, due partly to the fact that water enables more
efficient travel compared to going over land. Waterways are critically important to the transportation of
people and goods throughout the world. The complex network of connections between coastal ports,
inland ports, rail, air, and truck routes forms a foundation of material economic wealth worldwide.
Water Transportation and Tourism have been interlinked ever since the beginning of time. Water based
transportation was one of the earliest known forms of transport known to man. Today it is a giant
industry and water-based tourism and activities are amongst the most popular.

History of Water Transportation

Water transport can be undertaken either along inland rivers and canals or across oceans. This
distinction is pertinent since the two types have different backgrounds and vary in importance. Rivers, if
naturally navigable, have always been used for transport for many years ago, but only during the last
two hundred years have canals been specially constructed on a large scale (although both Egypt and
China do have canals dating back more than 2000 years). Britain pioneered inland water transport but
now has little use for it, owing amongst other factors to the narrowness and shortness of her canals.

Up to the middle of the last century, ocean transport was almost entirely dependent upon
sailing craft, and journeys were consequently slow and laborious. Ships too were unsophisticated and
could be divided merely into two groups: warship and merchantmen. Much has changed since then.
Coal powered, subsequently, oil-powered vessels were introduced and ships became more specialized in
function. Apart from liners (for passengers), merchant shipping now comprises cargo-liners including
containers ships, tramps, coastal craft, and tankers. Sizes too have increased especially for oil tankers
which today carry as much as 500,000 tones dead weight.

Water transportation vehicles

Water vehicles are suitable for long-distance travel, commuting, cruising, racing, and off-road
riding. There are numerous examples of water vehicles which are mentioned below.

Examples of Water transport vehicles

• Motorboat • Ferry • Jet Ski
• Cargo ship • Canoe • Windsurfer
• Speedboat • Raft boat • Riverboat
• Sailboat • Battleship • Submarine
• Yacht • Cruise ship • Tug boat

What is water transport used for?

 Water transport usage in passengers

Passengers use water transport for recreation and commuting. Ferries can be used to travel
between different areas with relative ease. The ferry is used by many commuters from Wirral who work
in Liverpool. At non-peak times, the ferry is used a tourist attraction for leisure purposes. Ferries also
travel between countries and islands. Travelling by ferry is often much more affordable than flying.

Cruise ships are another example of water transport. They are purely recreational; in the past,
cruise ships provided a way of travelling from one country to another in order to relocate or take a
holiday when you got there, cruises now are a holiday in themselves. Bigger than ferries, they tend to
offer 1-2 week trips where passengers visit multiple locations as well as enjoying on-board
entertainment. So while they do provide movement of people, they are more of an overall experience
than typical 'transport'. Small river cruises are another example of this type of water transport usage in
passengers. Venice has water taxis as well as the vaporetto - a water bus.
 Water transport usage for cargo
Bulk carriers and container ships are two important types of water transport. They are used to
transport cargo from (usually) one country to another. It is often much cheaper to transport heavy
goods by water than it is by air or road.
 Water transport for military use
The military operate at sea, too. Whether it's the Royal Navy in the UK, the US
Navy or one of many other global naval forces, water transport is used.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Water Transport

Advantages of Water transport
1. It involves a low running cost which makes it the cheapest form of transport system over long
distances.
2. Large vessels especially run economically since fuel costs can be spread over greater quantities.
Distance does not add greatly to total transport costs.
3. It has the capacity of conveying heavy and bulky cargoes.
4. Water transport has a natural route 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.
6. It causes relatively little environmental pollution, but sometimes oil discharge from tankers
seems to be the major problem to this mode of transportation.

Disadvantages of Water Transport

1. This mode of transportation is very slow compared to road transport hence; it is unsuitable for
perishable goods and urgent cargoes.
2. There may be delays at locks and docks, while navigation may be impeded majorly due to poor
weather conditions.
1. It is unsuitable for short distance journeys since transhipment is both costly and time-
consuming.
2. Canals are costly to build, maintain, and dredge, and also follows inflexible and circuitous routes.
An adequate supply of water may be difficult to obtain and the limited dimensions of barges
may be too small for modern requirements.

Types of Water Transport

There are two major types of water transportation.
1. Inland water transport
2. Ocean water transport
Inland Water Transport
The inland water transport is the system of transport through all navigable rivers, lakes, and
man-made canals. Many large rivers in different parts of the world are used by ships and barges for
transportation.

Rivers:
Rivers are a natural waterway which can be used as a means of transport. They are suitable for
small boats as well as big barrages. River transport played a very important role prior to the
development of modern means of land transport. Their importance has gradually declined on account of
more reliable and cheaper transport services offered by the railways.

Canals:
They are artificial waterways made for the purpose of irrigation or navigation or both. Canal
transport requires a huge amount of capital investment in construction and maintenance of its track i.e.,
the artificial waterways. The cost of the canal transport is, therefore, higher than that of river transport.
To add to it, the cost of providing water for the canals is also a very big problem of canal transport.

Lakes:
Lakes can be either natural like rivers or artificial like canals.

Advantages:
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.
3. Larger Capacity: It can carry much larger quantities of heavy and bulky goods such as coal and
timber.
 4. Flexible Service: It provides much more flexible service than railways and can be adjusted to
individual requirements.
5. Safety: The risks of accidents and breakdowns, in this form of transport, are minimum as
compared to any other form of transport.
3. Environment Friendly: There is lesser pollution in water transport.
Disadvantages:
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 canals and
rivers.
3. Seasonal Character: Rivers and canals cannot be operated for transportation through 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.

Ocean Water Transport

Ocean transport has been playing a significant role In development of economic, social and
cultural relations among countries of the world. International trade owes its growth to ocean transport.
Ocean transport enjoys a pride of place in aiding international trade. Cheapness is its great virtue. In the
transportation of low-grade, bulky goods among the countries, the role of ocean transport is
commendable.

Types of Ocean Transport

Ocean transport may be divided into two board categories.
1. Coastal Shipping:
2. Overseas Shipping:

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.

2. Overseas Shipping:
It means the passengers' and goods have to cross ocean. Example India export goods to America.
There are three types of vessels employed in the overseas shipping:
 Liners
 Tramps
 Tankers
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.
There are two types of liners, namely
 Passenger liners
 Cargo liners.

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.
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.

Advantages:
 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.
 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.
 It has the largest carrying capacity as compared to any other transport.
 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'.
 It is the only suitable mode of transport for carrying heavy and bulky goods to distant places.
 It is indispensable to foreign trade.

Ferry
A ferry is a merchant vessel used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across
a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water
bus or water taxi.

Ferries form a part of the public transport systems of many waterside cities and islands, allowing direct
transit between points at a capital cost much lower than bridges or tunnels. Ship connections of much
larger distances (such as over long distances in water bodies like the Mediterranean Sea) may also be
called ferry services, especially if they carry vehicles

Types of Ferry
Ferry designs depend on the length of the route, the passenger or vehicle capacity required,
speed requirements and the water conditions the craft must deal with.
Double-ended

Double-ended ferries have interchangeable bows and sterns, allowing them to shuttle back and
forth between two terminals without having to turn around. Well-known double-ended ferry systems
include the BC Ferries, and the Staten Island Ferry.

Hydrofoil

Hydrofoil, underwater fin with a flat or curved wing like surface that is designed to lift a moving
boat or ship by means of the reaction upon its surface from the water through which it moves. Ships
that use hydrofoils, or foils, are themselves called hydrofoil. It has the advantage of higher cruising
speeds.

Hovercraft
A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling
over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air
below the hull, or air cushion, that is slightly above atmospheric pressure

Catamaran

A catamaran/ informally, a "cat" is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal
size. It is a geometry-stabilized craft, deriving its stability from its wide beam, rather than from a
ballasted keel as with a monohull boa

Roll-on/roll-off
 Roll-on/roll-off ferries (RORO) are large conventional ferries named for the ease by which
vehicles can board and leave.

Cruiseferry / RoPax
A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship with a roll-on/roll-off ferry.
They are also known as RoPax for their combined Roll on/Roll Off and passenger design.

Fast RoPax ferry

Fast RoPax ferries are conventional ferries with a large garage intake and a relatively large
passenger capacity. Cabins, if existent, are much smaller than those on cruise ships.

Turntable ferry

This type of ferry allows vehicles to load from the "side". The vehicle platform can be turned.
When loading, the platform is 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 or both of the front and rear to give access to the
wharves.

Foot ferry
Ferries are small craft used to ferry foot passengers, and often also cyclists, over river these are
either self-propelled craft or cable ferries. Such ferries are for example to be found the lower River
Scheldt in Belgium and in particular the Netherlands.

Cable ferry

Very short distances may be crossed by a cable or chain ferry, where the ferry is propelled along and
steered by cables connected to each shore. Sometimes the cable ferry is human powered by someone
on the boat.