River transport in Russia. Abstract: Sea and river transport of Russia

River transport historically occupies one of the leading places in servicing the industrial centers of riverine areas. The importance of river transport is especially great for the northern and eastern regions of the country, where the railway network is insufficient, and the density of the inland waterway network is 2 times higher than the average for the country. Russian Federation. Therefore, the share of river transport in the total freight turnover of these areas ranges from 65 to 90%, while in Russia as a whole this figure in 2008 was only 0.1%, and in terms of transportation volume - 1.6%. IN Lately The share of river transport in freight turnover is declining, since it cannot compete with other types of mainline transport, and, above all, with by rail, the scope of which in comparison with river transport is almost identical.

The role of river transport in the Russian economy is determined not so much by the scale of transport work, but by the special significance of the functions it performs. Besides transport services regions of Siberia and the Far East, including the Arctic, river transport also carries out complex, expensive transportation along small rivers in hard-to-reach areas, as well as highly profitable transportation of foreign trade cargo by mixed (river-sea) navigation vessels. Currently, approximately 5 thousand shipowners of various forms of ownership operate inland waterways, including 21 joint-stock shipping companies (river shipping companies). The river fleet of the Russian Federation serves 68 republics, territories, regions and national districts. Russia has unique inland waterways, the length of which is about 103 thousand km, with 70% of their length guaranteed at a certain depth during navigation. Thus, in the European part of Russia, as a result of the construction of connecting canals (White Sea-Baltic, Volga-Vyatka, Volga-Don), the territorial disunity of inland waterways was eliminated and a single deep-water transport system was created that connected the White Sea, Baltic, Caspian, Azov and Black Sea. The length of the unified deep-sea system (USS) is 6.5 thousand km, the guaranteed depth along almost its entire length is 4 m. The share of the UGS accounts for more than half of the internal cargo turnover water transport.

Since inland waterways are mainly natural, the organization of navigation requires significantly less (6-7 times) initial capital investments per 1 km of track than the construction of a railway or highway equal capacity.

The following advantages of river transport can be noted:


1) relatively low cost of transportation;

2) high carrying capacity when using ships heavy lifting capacity;

3) natural routes - minor capital investments are required when organizing shipping;

4) specific energy consumption in river transport is significantly lower due to low resistance to vessel movement

Disadvantages of river transport:

1) short duration of the navigation period;

2) low speed of ships;

3) the tortuosity of river routes, which lengthens the path by 3-3.5 times compared to straight movement;

4) low speed of cargo delivery.

In the European part of the country, due to the construction of a number of connecting canals (Volga-Don, Volga-Baltic), a single deep-water system (USS) was created, connecting 5 seas: the Baltic, Caspian, White, Azov, Black. The total length of the UGS is 6.5 thousand km with a guaranteed depth of 4 meters throughout. Lakes and reservoirs are also used for navigation - Baikal, Ladoga, Onega, etc.

The role of inland water transport in transport system Russia is determined by the geography of waterways and the seasonality of their use. Because The vast majority of rivers flow in the meridian direction, and the main cargo and passenger flows of the country move in the latitudinal direction, then the importance of river transport decreases.

Navigation in Russia begins in April and continues until October (about 240 days). During other periods, icebreaking vessels are used to extend navigation. The directions and boundaries of ship passages are indicated by floating and coastal navigational signs, which are illuminated at night.

River routes are under the jurisdiction of the River Transport Department of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation. These are public roads where self-rafting of timber is prohibited. Shipping routes are maintained in operational condition by special structural units: channel clearing, dredging, rock removal, etc. In sections of tracks of insufficient depth, navigation slots are created by dredging. Rock removal works ensure the expansion and deepening of ship passages. Straightening works make it possible to change the outline of river beds and increase the dimensions of the path. Trawling reveals obstacles hidden under water, which are removed during channel cleaning.

In view of the loss in 1991 by Russia of the majority of seaports and about half of the merchant fleet, the role of river transport in providing foreign trade transportation by intermodal vessels has increased significantly. Transportation by river-sea vessels is more profitable due to the long length of the routes and the possibility of using these vessels after the closure of river navigation in winter for transportation in non-freezing sea areas.

Inland water transport structures. In inland water transport, transport routes are rivers, lakes, seas, as well as complex hydraulic structures, i.e. artificial (reservoirs, canals, locks). Navigation does not take place along the entire width, but along the ship channel - the fairway. The fairway is designed to allow passage of 2 oncoming ships. It is designated by special signs. Ship canals are designed to be open when the rivers are at the same level, and locked when the rivers are at different levels. There are also bypass channels to the gateways. The radii of the channels are at least 6 lengths of the design vessel. The channel depth is taken with a margin of one meter. Canals are fed by water, gravity flow from rivers, lakes, or water supplied by pumps to highest point channel.

Locks are built to allow ships to pass through dams, chambers with 2 end gates. Gateways are:

· single-chamber sluices are used when the water difference does not exceed 20-25 m;

· multi-chamber airlocks are used when the difference is more than 25 m.

· one-sided and two-sided.

Inland water transport vessels can be classified according to the following criteria:

1. By purpose: technical, auxiliary (floating docks, sanitary stations, cranes, etc.), transport, special purposes.

2. According to the method of movement on water: self-propelled and non-self-propelled (energy source outside the vessel).

3. According to the principle of movement: displacement, planing, hydrofoil, hovercraft, ekranoplanes (move above the surface of the water).

4. According to the number of ridge screws - single-screw, double-screw and three-screw.

5. According to the method of performing cargo operations - with vertical loading and unloading through cargo hatches, with horizontal loading and unloading through side ports, through special cavities, pumping, etc.

The expansion of non-transshipment communication using special river-sea vessels is of great economic importance for river transport. These vessels have a carrying capacity of 2000-2700 tons. For more than 30 years, vessels of the Russian Federation fleet have been transporting foreign trade cargo overseas. These transportations gained wide popularity both in Russia and abroad and developed at a high pace. Currently, intermodal vessels transport about 27 million tons of foreign trade cargo. Of these, 2.5 million tons of foreign trade cargo are transported annually to the ports of Finland and back, including 500 thousand tons via the Saimaa Canal. In the Caspian region, transportation has reached 4 million tons and tends to increase annually due to the establishment of trade relations between Russia and Iran, transportation of oil and petroleum products from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Traditional regions for the operation of mixed navigation vessels leaving and entering inland waterways are the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea-Mediterranean basin, and the countries of the Far East. About 700 vessels of this type with a total carrying capacity of 1.7 million tons operate in foreign transportation. 35 shipping companies and Russian shipping companies operate. The North-Western Shipping Company (St. Petersburg), the White Sea-Onega Shipping Company (Petrozavodsk), Volgotanker (Samara), and Volgoflot (Samara) have firmly established themselves in the foreign trade market area. Nizhny Novgorod), Volga-Don Shipping Company (Rostov-on-Don), Amur River Shipping Company (Khabarovsk). The Moscow (Moscow), Northern (Arkhangelsk), Irtysh (Omsk) shipping companies, and the Lena Association (Yakutsk) confidently comprehend the laws of the market. The vessels of these companies provide transport links With foreign ports 45 countries.

River ports and marinas. On inland waterways there are public ports, ports owned by industrial enterprises, and berths rented by clients. According to their purpose, they are: passenger, cargo, cargo-passenger, military, backwater.

Cargo ports transship cargo from water transport to adjacent modes of transport and back. They are divided into specialized and universal. The degree of wear of reloading equipment and equipment reaches 80%.

A pier is a coastal route for boarding or disembarking passengers. Marinas are usually floating (landing stages).

More than half of the total volume of cargo and passenger transportation along waterways occurs in the Volga-Kama basin (construction materials). In the East of the country, the Ob-Irtysh basin (timber, oil, petroleum products, liquefied gas) occupies a leading place in terms of river transportation volumes. The southern regions of Eastern Siberia are connected with the Arctic through the Yenisei (timber cargo, coal, oil products). Timber and coal are transported along the Angara River and Lake Baikal; along the Lena - dry cargo ships, oil cargoes, timber; along the Amur and its tributaries - grain, salt, fish, timber, oil, metal, coal.

River fleet. Registered in river register there are 32.6 thousand vessels. Their average age is 24 years, among them 1,824 vessels are unfit for operation, and 1,402 vessels are suitable with restrictions. The construction of new ships is progressing unsatisfactorily. So, for the period 1992-2000. with a plan of 669 ships, only 38 ships were built for intra-basin navigation and another 40 ships for external transport.

The main decrease in the volume of transportation and fleet renewal was due to a decrease in investment activity in the construction complex river shipping company. The largest percentage of the river fleet is occupied by tankers and oil barges. There are also ships - refrigerators, ships for transporting liquefied gas, vegetable carriers, chemical ships, car carriers, etc.

Fundamentals of organizing fleet movement. The river fleet has two types of traffic: free and local.

Through movement - movement on lines from loading to unloading without transshipment. Sectional movement along a system of traction shoulders. Through traffic is better. Depending on the purpose of the movement, the navy is divided into:

Domestic (coastal) - 10%;

External (foreign) - 90%.

Sailing is organized in 2 forms: linear (regular), cruise (irregular).

In Russia, the share of inland waterways in the total volume of transportation is 1%, and in the USA, for example, it is 10%. In the USA, the climate allows transportation all year round, and in Russia 6 months, and delivery to the Far North - 2-3 months.

Currently, the figures for passenger and cargo turnover on river transport have increased slightly.

General performance indicators of cargo water transport include: volume of transportation and cargo turnover. The values ​​of these indicators are differentiated by type of cargo: oil and petroleum products, dry cargo and liquid cargo.

General indicators of passenger transportation include: traffic volume and passenger turnover.

For quantification For the work of inland water transport, the same technical and economic indicators that are used in maritime transport can be used. The qualitative operational indicators of the river fleet include the load of vessels, their mileage, the duration of vessel turnover with the highlighting of the main elements, the operational time of vessels at sea, vessel productivity, etc.

River transport is the oldest mode of transport. For many centuries it played a huge role in the formation and development of states. With his help, relationships were established, trade developed, and troops were transferred.

Russia has a large and extensive network of rivers and lakes. However, it plays a significant role either in those regions where the directions of the main transport and economic connections and river routes coincide (the Volga-Kama river basin in the European part of Russia), or in poorly developed regions with an almost complete absence of alternative modes of transport (North and North east of the country).

Inland river transport is located mainly in currents big rivers, the main requirement for which is navigability.
The advantages of river transport lie in natural routes, the arrangement of which requires less capital expenditure than the construction of railways.

The main disadvantages of river transport are its seasonal nature, limited use due to the configuration of the river network, and low speed. In addition, large rivers in our country flow from south to north and from north to south, and the main flows of bulk cargo have a latitudinal direction.
With the construction of a cascade of waterworks, the Volga and Kama turned into deep-sea mains. The inter-basin connections White Sea-Baltic, Moscow-Volga, Volga, Volga-Don, Volga-Baltic make up the Unified Deep-Water System (UDS) with a total length of 6.3 thousand km.
With the growth of inland water transportation in the east of the country, the leading position is still held by the Volga-Kama basin, whose rivers account for more than half of the transportation of goods and passengers in river transport. Construction materials took first place in terms of transportation volume in this basin (60%). Their transportation goes in both directions and is mainly intra-district in nature.

The bulk of the timber is transported from top to bottom in rafts and ships. From the Kama to the Volga there is a Ural and Siberian forest, and through the Volga-Baltic route - the forest of Karelia, the Arkhangelsk and Vologda regions for the Volga region and the North Caucasus. Along the Moscow Canal, the forest is sent to Moscow and the Moscow region. Kuznetsk coal enters the basin through the ports of the Kama and Volga and is transported along waterways to power plants.

A prominent place is occupied by the transportation of salt - from the Baskunchak salt mines up the Volga to the bases of the Volga region, Center, Urals, to fishing industry enterprises in the North-West and for export. Melons from the Astrakhan and Volgograd regions, fish from the Caspian Sea, and chemical products coming from the Urals and Volga region are also sent up the Volga. Oil and petroleum products and grain cargo are delivered in both directions.
The Kama with its tributaries Belaya and Vyatka is important in the transport connections of the Urals with the Volga region, the Center, and the North-West. Mainly timber, oil, grain, mineral building materials, and chemical cargo are transported down the Kama. In the opposite direction - timber, cement, coal. Up the Kama the freight traffic is much less.

The Volga-Don Canal has increased the transportation of bulk cargo along the Volga. From areas adjacent to the Don, coal, grain, melons, mineral building materials, and industrial products are transported along the Volga, and from the Volga-Kama basin to the Don - timber, cement, ore, and chemical products.
Water transport connections with the North-Western region and foreign countries Baltic Sea via the Volga-Baltic Waterway. Timber, ore, apatite concentrate, and building materials are shipped along the Volgo-Balt to the south, and petroleum products, grain, coal, and chemical cargo are sent to the north.

The main passenger flows are also concentrated in the Volga-Kama basin. There are many transit, local, suburban and intracity lines operating here. River passenger ships are widely used for recreation and tourism. The longest transit lines: Moscow - Rostov, Moscow - Astrakhan, Moscow - Perm, Moscow - Ufa.

In the Volga-Vyatka basin there are large river ports: Volgograd, Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, Yaroslavl, Perm, Astrakhan, Kazan, etc.
Rivers have long served as important transport communications for the Northern and Northwestern economic regions. In the European North, in terms of cargo transportation, the Northern Dvina with its tributaries Vychegda and Sukhona, Mezen, Pechora, and in the North-West - the White Sea-Baltic Canal, Svir, Neva stand out.

The northern rivers carry a powerful flow of timber, oil and mineral construction materials, as well as coal and grain. Main ports: Arkhangelsk, Kotlas, Naryan-Mar, Mezen, Pechora.
The North-Western river basin provides transportation in the southern direction of apatite concentrate from the Kola Peninsula, iron ore and timber from Karelia, and in the opposite direction - oil products, grain, salt and industrial goods. Transshipment points for cargo are St. Petersburg, Volkhov, Petrozavodsk.

Regular passenger lines have been organized from St. Petersburg to Moscow and the upper Volga. Local lines have developed greatly, especially with the increase in the number of high-speed ships.

In the east of the country, Western Siberia with its main Ob-Irtysh basin ranks first in terms of traffic volume. The increase in river transportation in the basin is caused by the development of oil and gas resources, as well as new forest areas. From transshipment transport hubs (Omsk, Tobolsk, Novosibirsk) along the Ob and Irtysh, pipes and drilling equipment, building materials, coal, industrial and food products are supplied to oil and gas fields Tyumen region. Cargo is delivered to the deep regions of Siberia along the Northern Sea Route with transshipment at the mouths of the Ob, Pur, and Taz to river vessels.

More than half of the transportation in the basin is timber, arriving in rafts at the port of Asino. From here and from some other points, timber is already transported on ships to Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Omsk. More than a quarter of water transportation along the Ob and Irtysh is occupied by construction materials coming from the south of the region to the north, to the centers of the oil and gas industry. A smaller, although noticeable, role is played by water transport in the delivery of grain cargo, oil products, coal and salt.

On the Ob, along with the old ports of Novosibirsk and Barnaul, the ports that arose in connection with the formation of industrial centers such as Surgut, Salekhard, Ob, and Labytnangi are of great importance.
The Yenisei connects the southern regions of Eastern Siberia with the Arctic. Timber transportation reaches 2/3 of the Yenisei's freight turnover. Grain, coal, petroleum products and mineral building materials are also transported along the river. On the upper Yenisei, from Minusinsk to Krasnoyarsk, downward freight flow predominates, and the main place in it is occupied by grain cargo.

The mouth of the Angara, from where a large amount of timber comes, divides the direction of cargo flows on the Yenisei: most of cargo flows up, and from the mouth of the Angara to Dikson, cargo flow down the river prevails. Mostly timber is transported along the Angara and Lake Baikal. The transportation of mineral building materials and coal is also important on the Angara.

The main ports are: Krasnoyarsk, Yeniseisk, Igarka, Dudinka, and on the Angara - Irkutsk, Makaryevo, Bratsk, Ust-Ilimsk.
On the Lena, regular shipping is carried out from the port of Osetrovo to the river delta. Along the Lena, in addition to internal cargo, cargo is transported from the railway from Osetrovo and from Tiksi Bay, where they are delivered along the Northern Sea Route. In the structure of cargo transportation in the Lena Basin, 2/3 are dry cargo ships (mineral building materials and coal), the rest are oil and timber. The bulk of cargo follows the Lena from top to bottom. A number of tributaries of the Lena are used for navigation - Vitim, Aldan, Olekma and Vilyui. Cargo operations take place in the ports of Yakutsk, Vitim, Kirensk, Osetrovo.

On Far East The Amur and its tributaries Zeya and Bureya are of transport importance. The main goods transported along the Amur: grain, salt, fish, timber, oil, metal, coal. The direction is east, down the river. The largest ports: Blagoveshchensk, Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
In the eastern regions, in conditions of insufficient provision of land communications, river transport also plays an important role in the transportation of passengers. Local, intracity, suburban and tourist lines operate on large rivers. The main transportation of passengers is carried out along the Yenisei River and the Bratsk Reservoir, and relatively small ones - along the lower reaches of the Angara and Lake Baikal. In the basin there are transit routes Krasnoyarsk - Dudinka, Irkutsk - Bratsk, port Baikal - Nizhneangarsk and tourist lines Krasnoyarsk - Dikson, Lake Baikal.
On the Lena, transit passenger routes run in the directions Osetrovo - Yakutsk, Yakutsk - Tiksi. Tourist transportation is also growing; trips to the Lena Pillars are especially popular.

The further development of river transport is associated with the improvement of navigation conditions on inland waterways; improvement of port facilities; extension of navigation; increasing the capacity of waterways; expansion of mixed rail-water transport and river-sea transport.

Problems of river transport

Chasing volumes of cargo transportation and ton-kilometers, they built the world's largest river vessels and adjusted rivers to them (deepened, widened and straightened), arguing that river transport is the most economical, most environmentally friendly and safest form of transport. It's hard to argue with that. All over the world, thanks to the listed characteristics, river transport is in demand and is developing rapidly. In some countries, they transport up to 15 percent of the total volume of transported cargo. But as for Russia, the situation here is completely different. While building the world's largest river fleet, customizing rivers and canals for it, and spending enormous amounts of money, we lost sight of the issue of transportation costs, as a result of which a significant part of the cargo flows belonging to river transport ended up with its main competitor - railway transport.

According to a number of scientists, in 1950, the cost of river transportation was approximately 23 percent less than by rail. In 1970, the cost of river transportation exceeded the cost of rail transportation by 5 percent, and by 1990. - by 42 percent. Subsequently, the cost of river transportation decreased slightly, but still turned out to be approximately 25-30 percent higher than by rail. As a result of the increase in the cost of river transportation, the freight load on inland waterways has decreased significantly and is currently approximately 7 times lower than the world average. One km of inland waterways in Russia accounts for only 1 thousand tons of transported cargo. In China, 1 km of track accounts for about 10 thousand tons of transported cargo, in the USA - approximately 12 thousand tons, and in Germany - more than 30 thousand tons.

The situation with passenger transportation is no less difficult. Almost all of the “Zori”, “Voskhod” and “Rockets”, which were previously the pride of the river fleet, turned out to be unprofitable and were taken out of service. Large tourist ships, with the exception of some attractive routes, are also unprofitable. Having worked for 50, and sometimes more, years, many tourist ships are morally and physically outdated. The metal consumption of such vessels is significantly higher than that of their foreign analogues. Fuel costs are 2 times, and sometimes 3 times more than modern foreign models.

The crews of the ships are also superior to those of their foreign counterparts. Inherited from Soviet Union, Russian river vessels are increasingly being resold, gradually falling into disrepair and being taken out of service. The cessation of the work of most of these courts is a matter of the near future.
From the above data it is clear that Russia, having the longest and most modern inland waterways in the world, uses them extremely inefficiently. Moreover, this cannot be explained only by objective reasons, for example, a limited navigation period or the rapid development of other modes of transport. Subjective factors play a huge role in the inefficiency of river transportation: ill-conceived reform of river transport management, incorrectly chosen priorities for the development of river transport, unfounded and sometimes simply erroneous decisions related to the development of the fleet and inland waterways, etc.

If we analyze the development of river transportation, it turns out that the efficiency of river transportation began to decline from the end of the 60s, namely, from the adoption in 1967 by the Russian Ministry of River Fleet of the decision to increase the guaranteed depth at the UGS from 365 cm to 400 cm. It was from this moment, the unreasonable construction of large-capacity self-propelled vessels with deep draft began. The vessels were built, but the depths announced at the Unified State System were not ensured, as a result of which the large-tonnage fleet began to sail with underload, and the small-tonnage and medium-tonnage fleet lost speed due to the operation of large-tonnage vessels.

Despite the fact that 45 years have passed since 1967, the guaranteed depth of 400 cm at the Unified State System has still not been achieved, and, apparently, with a reasonable attitude towards nature and taxpayers’ funds, cannot be achieved. Yes, and there is no need for this. Why destroy rivers and build new hydroelectric complexes if the volume of cargo transported by river transport does not exceed 1 percent of the total volume of cargo transportation in the country.
At the same time, we still hear that the UGS requires a guaranteed depth of 400 cm, that for this it is necessary to build new waterworks and fill reservoirs in the central part of Russia, as well as increase the capacity of certain locks and it will almost be a disaster, if this is not done.

The current situation in the river industry clearly confirms that river transport has practically left the Russian transport system and does not have a significant impact on the country’s economy. Moreover, it continues to lose ground and if drastic measures are not taken in the near future, it will actually cease to exist, which will be a shame for a country that has the longest, most extensive and very advanced network of inland waterways.

River port in Salekhard

Maritime transport is important primarily because it provides a significant part of Russia’s foreign trade relations. Internal transportation (cabotage) is essential only for supplying northern and east coasts countries. The share of sea transport in cargo turnover is 8%, although the mass of transported cargo is less than 1% of the total. This ratio is achieved due to longest average transportation distance - about 4.5 thousand km. Passenger transportation by sea is insignificant.

Globally sea ​​transport ranks first in terms of cargo turnover, standing out for its minimal cargo transportation. In Russia it is relatively poorly developed, since the main economic centers of the country are remote from sea ​​coasts. In addition, most of the seas surrounding the country's territory are frozen, which increases the cost of using sea transport. A serious problem is the country's outdated fleet. Most of the ships were built more than 20 years ago and should be decommissioned by world standards. There are practically no ships of modern types: gas carriers, lighter carriers, container ships, ships with horizontal loading and unloading, etc. There are only 11 large seaports on the territory of Russia, which is not enough for a country of this size. About half of Russian cargo transported by sea is serviced by ports of other countries. These are mainly 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 Eastern. Its main ports are Vladivostok and Nakhodka, which rarely freeze. Built near Nakhodka modern port Vostochny with terminals for the export of coal and timber cargo. The port of Vanino, located on the final section of the Baikal-Amur Railway, is also of great importance. This port operates a ferry connecting the railway network of mainland Russia with the network of Sakhalin Island (port of Kholmsk).

The Northern Basin is in second place in terms of cargo turnover. 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 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 most important is the Baltic Basin. Its main ports are St. Petersburg (freezing) and Kaliningrad (non-freezing). Using the convenient Kaliningrad port is difficult, since it is separated from the main part of Russia by the territories of foreign countries. Near St. Petersburg there is a small port of Vyborg, through which mainly timber cargo is transported. The ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk are being built.

The Cheriomorsk-Azov basin is in fourth place in terms of cargo turnover. There are two ice-free oil export ports here - Novorossiysk (the most powerful in Russia) and Tuapse. Maritime transport also includes transportation across the Caspian Sea. The largest ports here are the ports of Astrakhan (both sea and river) and Makhachkala, through which mainly oil cargo is transported.

River transport

River transport (or inland waterway) was the main one in Russia until the end of the 19th century. At present its importance is small - about 2% of cargo turnover and weight of transported goods. Although this is a cheap mode of transport, it has serious disadvantages. The main thing 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. In Russia, river transport is a seasonal mode of transport, since rivers freeze for several months a year. The total length of navigable river routes in Russia is 85 thousand km. 3/4 of the cargo currently transported by Russian river transport is mineral and construction materials. Passenger transportation by river transport is insignificant, as well as by sea.

More than half of the country's river transport freight turnover falls on the Volga-Kama basin. It is connected by channels 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. In second place in terms of cargo turnover is the West Siberian basin, which includes the Ob and its tributaries. In addition to construction materials, oil cargo makes up a significant share of transportation. The main ports are Novosibirsk, Tobolsk, Surgut, Labytnangi, Tyumen. The third in Russia is the Northern Dvina basin with its tributaries Sukhona and Vychegda. A significant share of its transportation is made up of 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 bulk of cargo is delivered to these territories in the summer or from the south of railway(along the Yenisei from Krasnoyarsk, along the Lena from Ust-Kut), or from the mouths of rivers, where goods are delivered by sea.

Water transport is a type of transport that is used for freight and passenger transportation along waterways. These can be either natural (rivers, lakes, seas and oceans) or artificial (canals, reservoirs) waterways. The main transport is the ship.

The history of water transport begins with Ancient Egypt. Up to the second half of the 19th century centuries, when transcontinental railways were created, the most important mode of transport was water transport (both river and sea). And today this type of transport plays an important role: from 60 to 67% of global cargo turnover is accounted for by river and sea ​​vessels.

Seaworthy vessel of the ancient world.

Vessel structure

In the classical concept, water transport is a ship, boat, yacht. But the category of vessels 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 design elements:

  • Frame
  • Superstructures, deckhouses
  • Vessel power plants
  • Ship devices
  • Vessel systems and piping
  • Equipment and electrical equipment of premises

Part of the cargo ship's hull

But there are also distinctive features for some categories of vessels, such as ekranoplan and seaplane. For the most part, the designs are airplanes, only their hull is designed like a boat.

A ship's hull is the waterproof shell that allows a ship to float on water. The end of the body is equipped with beams, which are called stems. The stem is a beam that is installed in the bow of the ship's hull. Also, not stems, but vertical end walls can be installed at the ends - towing or pushing vessels are equipped with them. The hull of a ship is usually made of steel.

Passenger ships have decks for river and mixed navigation, have one deck - the main one. Marine passenger ships are distinguished by the presence of several decks - upper (main), middle, lower. Large passenger ships sailing on lakes have two decks.

To make the ship unsinkable, its hull is divided by internal waterproof transverse bulkheads. This creates 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. The first river steamboats appeared in the 19th century. And in 1903, the history of the ship begins - this ship was built in Russia and became part of the river fleet.

River vessels play an important role in cargo transportation. Despite such disadvantages as seasonal operation and low speed (from 10 to 20 kilometers per hour), water freight transport is profitable 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. Self-propelled river transport transports either trucks with one or another cargo or containers - such vessels are called river container ships. Barges transport either liquid cargo (for example, petroleum products or crude oil) or bulk cargo (for example, grain, coal, sand).

River vessels occupy a relatively small share of passenger transportation. 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 air cushions, the speed of ships can be increased to 80 kilometers per hour. However, in this case, the cost of transportation increases significantly due to high fuel consumption. But recently, hovercraft (hovercraft) for transporting people have begun to appear more and more on rivers. The hovercraft has amphibious properties, so the vessel does not require specially equipped berths. During the spring thaw, this is the only transport capable of transporting people and cargo from one bank to the other.

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 operations with cargo.

The largest share of global freight traffic is accounted for by sea transport. In terms of transportation volume, the first place is occupied by a variety of liquid cargo: vegetable oil, liquid products of the chemical industry, crude oil and its refined products.

The second place in terms of cargo transportation volume is occupied by container transportation. Specialized ships called container ships have become an alternative to their predecessors, the general purpose ships. This is due to the fact that in a regular container (20ft or 40ft) you can transport various loads– both small and quite large, like cars.

Bulk carrier

There are other types of sea transport:

  • Lighter carriers
  • Livestock transport vessels
  • Heavy vessels
  • Towing vessels
  • Refrigerators
  • Bulk carriers for transporting bulk cargo - such as coal, grain, sand

Some ships move on schedule between several seaports, adhering to a certain route. These are liner ships - passenger, cargo, and ferries.

Other vessels are not tied to specific geographical points and transport incidental and incidental cargo; this type of sea transport is called tramp. When carrying out tramp cargo transportation, a so-called charter agreement 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 transport piece goods of low value.

A mixed type of water transport, in relation to waterways, is also known. Such vessels can navigate both rivers and lakes, and seas and oceans.

River transport, as well as ships plying along the Northern Sea Route, is characterized by seasonality. Freight transportation by water transport is the cheapest, but is tied to geographical objects. When carrying out intercontinental cargo transportation, water transport is used, because delivering 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 brief description

Modern water transport can be divided into sports ships, cargo and passenger ships. In sports vessels, traditions that came from antiquity have been preserved, for example, kayaks, canoes, sailboats, rowing boats. Often, the production of such water products is a real art; as a result of the work of masters, unique works are created. But motorized vehicles have become a widespread type of water transport since the beginning of the 20th century - steam engines were replaced by gasoline (for motor boats) and diesel engines.
Features of VT, main differences from other types of vehicles.

Water transport has many varieties. There are small vessels (most often personal), medium and large ships. 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, vessels such as motor boats and speedboats are used. Fishing enthusiasts use inflatable motor boats. Yachts are used for events.

Unlike boats, whose engines are stationary, motor boats are equipped with easily removable outboard gasoline engines. Also, motor boats usually have rowlocks for oars, which can be useful if for some reason the boat’s engine fails, 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 light metal material - aluminum or its alloy with magnesium.

It is interesting to note that many types of motor boats are planing type water transport - such vessels can glide along the surface of the water and in this way safely navigate shallow water areas. In order for the engine power to be sufficient to switch 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 contour, vary. For example, sports motor boats are small in size and weight and have a hull contour that allows them to move at high speeds.

Boats were originally called light vessels with one mast. Today this is the name given to small vessels 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 buyers. Nowadays, Tom LLC produces boats. This shipbuilding enterprise produces both the boats themselves with a lightweight aluminum hull, and trailers for transporting these vessels.

Boats are used for boating and recreation, water tourism, fishing, hunting, and sporting events. In addition to a stationary motor, boats are usually equipped with water jet propulsors. It is the jet propulsion that allows the boat to enter planing mode and easily overcome shallow sections of the river.

Advantages and disadvantages of water transport

Freight transportation by water transport has a number of significant advantages:

  • Marine capacity trade routes practically unlimited
  • The presence of a unified legal framework with a 400-year history
  • The cost of such transportation is quite low
  • High carrying capacity, thanks to which the ship can be transported a large number of cargo

These advantages, especially the last one, are especially important for intercontinental transport large quantities cargo (for example, oil or petroleum products). At the same time, water transport has a number of serious disadvantages:

  • The ship moves at a relatively low speed
  • It is necessary to have specially equipped port facilities
  • The construction of ships and ports requires serious financial expenditures

Motor boats are a very popular type of small water transport due to a number of advantages:

  • Such small vessels are cheaper than yachts and boats
  • Simple design
  • Operation is simple, thanks to which the motor boat can be operated by persons without special education
  • The service life is long, which is due to the possibility of storing the vessel on shore
  • Speed
  • It is possible to ensure safe anchorage of the vessel near an unprepared shore
  • The motorboat can be transported a passenger car, installing it on a special trailer
  • Due to the fact that the engine is outboard, it is easy to remove and replace; also, if necessary, the motor can be removed and stored safely

Motor boats also have disadvantages:

  • Low load capacity
  • Small volume of cabins (livable space)
  • The outboard engines of these vessels are uneconomical compared to stationary boat engines.

Paths of VT evolution

The first large ships were built in Ancient Egypt, using wood as a structural material. The ships were equipped with a simple sail that caught the tailwind. If there was no favorable wind, the strength of the rowers was used.

In the 15th century, large seagoing vessels with several sails appeared. At the beginning of the 19th century, the first steamship was built and 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 en masse on boats, yachts, ferries, and ships. At the moment, this is the main engine, but not the only one installed on the VT. Another stage in the development of technology was rapid development petrochemical industry. On this moment Many watercraft are made from plastic polymer materials. Firstly, plastics and polymers are lighter than metal, secondly, their strength is either close to, the same or stronger than metal alloys, and thirdly, they are corrosion-resistant.

At the moment, the greatest interest in water technology is generated by the ekranoplan, hovercraft and planing boats, because... they develop the highest speeds. The fastest is the ekranoplan; on it you can reach ground speed of up to 700 km/h. It is also characterized by an absolutely smooth ride and allows you to overcome small obstacles (isthmus, shoal). The only drawback is its high power supply to transfer the vehicle and maintain it in ground-flight mode, which leads to high fuel consumption. A hovercraft and a boat have a lower speed, about up to 150 km/h, the smoothness of the VSP is also at the level of an ekranoplan, but the smoothness of a boat suffers, but the hovercraft and the boat consume much less fuel compared to an ekranoplan.

At the moment, the crown of technical thought is the ekranoplan. With the development of new materials and increased efficiency of power units, ekranoplanes may well replace private passenger air travel. And in the future, they will become private vehicles for long-distance transportation and world travel, displacing yachts and cars.

Water (river) transport is transport that carries passengers and cargo by ships along waterways of both natural origin (rivers, lakes) and artificial ones (reservoirs, canals). Its main advantage is its low cost, thanks to which it occupies an important place in the country's federal transport system, despite seasonality and low speed.

Advantages and disadvantages

River transport in Russia plays an important role in inter-district and intra-district transportation of our country. Its advantages lie in the routes of natural origin, the construction of which requires fewer costs than the construction of railways and highways. The cost of freight transport by waterway is lower than by rail. And labor productivity is 35 percent higher.

However river transportation have a number of disadvantages - they are seasonal, low speed of movement, limited use, which is determined by the configuration of the water network. In addition, the major arteries of our country flow from north to south, and from south to north, and the main cargo flows have a latitudinal direction.

Main highways

Thanks to the construction of cascades of waterworks, the Volga and Kama rivers turned into deep-water highways. The Moscow-Volzhskoe and Volzhskoe inter-basin connections today constitute a Unified deep-water system, the total length of which is 6.3 thousand kilometers. With the steady growth of inland water transport in the eastern part of Russia, the leading position is still held by the Volga-Kama basin. Its rivers account for more than fifty percent of the transport of passengers and goods. Main place in this pool Transportation of construction materials by river transport took up 60 percent. Their transportation is carried out in both directions, it is predominantly intra-district in nature.

What is transported along Russian waterways?

River transport on these arteries mainly delivers timber, both on ships and the old-fashioned way, on rafts, by rafting. Siberian timber is transported from the Kama to the Volga, and the timber of the Vologda and Arkhangelsk regions, Karelia for the regions of the North Caucasus and the Volga region. Moscow river transport is involved in the transportation of timber along the canal of the same name to the Moscow region and Moscow. Kuznetsk coal is transported into the basin through the ports of the Volga and Kama, and then it is transported along waterways to power plants. In addition, the delivery of salt occupies a prominent place - from the Baskunchany salt mine up the Volga to the ports of the Volga region, the Urals, the Center, to North-Western enterprises and for export. In addition, agricultural products from Volgograd and Astrakhan regions, fish from the Caspian Sea, as well as chemical products from the Volga region and the Urals. Petroleum products and oil, grain cargoes are transported in both directions.

Main directions

River transport in Russia is especially developed in the Volga-Kama basins, because the Kama with its tributaries - the Vyatka and the Belaya - is important in connecting the Urals with the North-West, the Center, and the Volga region. Mainly grain, timber, oil, chemical cargo, and construction mineral materials are transported down the Kama. In the opposite direction, coal, cement, and timber are transported. In the upper reaches of the Kama, freight traffic is significantly less. In addition, the Volga-Don Canal contributed to an increase in the transportation of bulk cargo along the Volga. Thanks to it, grain, coal, melons, industrial products and other cargo are transported along the Volga from the regions adjacent to the Don. In the opposite direction - cement, ore, timber, chemical products. All this is transported by river transport. Samara, like other cities in the Middle Volga region, is the main consumer of these goods. A major role in the development of transportation is played by water transport connections of this basin with the North-Western region, as well as with foreign countries of the Baltic Sea through the Volga-Baltic route. Apatite concentrate, ore, building materials, and timber are transported through it to the south, and chemical cargo, grain, coal and petroleum products to the north.

Passenger Transportation

The main passenger flows were also concentrated in the Volga-Kama basin. Any River Station will offer citizens a variety of local, transit, intracity and suburban destinations. Passenger ships are quite widely used in organizing tourism or recreation. The longest transit lines are from Moscow to Astrakhan, Perm, Rostov and Ufa. The largest river station is located in the capital of Russia. In the Volga-Vyatka basin the largest river ports are Nizhny Novgorod, Volgograd, Moscow, Perm, Astrakhan, Kazan, Yaroslavl.

North-west direction

Since ancient times, rivers have served as the central transport communications of the North-Western and Northern economic regions. In its European part, the main waterways for the transportation of goods are the Northern Dvina with its tributaries Sukhona and Vychegda, Pechora, Mezen, and in the North-West - the Svir, Neva and the White Sea-Baltic Canal. The northern waterways carry a powerful flow of mineral construction and petroleum materials, timber, as well as grain and coal. The main ports are Naryan-Mar, Pechora, Mezen, Arkhangelsk, Kotlas.

The North-Western basin ensures the delivery of timber and apatite concentrate from the Kola Peninsula to the south from Karelia. In the opposite direction - industrial goods, grain, salt and petroleum products. Volkhov, Petrozavodsk and St. Petersburg serve as transshipment points for various goods. From here, permanent passenger lines are organized to Moscow and the Verkhnevolzhsky region. Local routes are also well developed here, this has become especially noticeable with the increase in the number of high-speed ships.

East direction

In eastern Russia, the Ob-Irtysh basin of Western Siberia occupies the first place in terms of transportation. River transport here contributed to the development of gas and oil resources, as well as forests. From the main transport transshipment hubs (Tobolsk, along the Irtysh and Ob, coal, drilling equipment and pipes, construction materials, food and industrial goods are supplied to the oil and gas fields of the Tyumen region. Delivery of goods to the inland areas of the mainland is carried out along the Northern Sea Route with subsequent transshipment at the mouths of the Taz, Pura and Ob on river ships. Most of the shipments are timber, which arrives in rafts to the river port of Asino. Then it is transported by ships to Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk. More than a quarter of deliveries along the Irtysh and Ob are construction materials, which come from the southern regions to the north, to the areas of the oil and gas industry.In addition, great importance has river transport for the transportation of grain cargo, salt, coal and petroleum products.

On the Ob, along with the ancient ports of Barnaul and Novosibirsk, an important role is played by the ports that arose in connection with the creation of industrial centers - Surgut, Ob, Labytnangi, Salekhard.

Yenisei and Angara

River transport of the Yenisei connects the southern part of Eastern Siberia with the Arctic regions. Here, timber transportation reaches two-thirds of the total freight turnover of the Yenisei. In addition, grain, oil products, coal and mineral building materials are transported along the river. The Upper Yenisei, from Minusinsk to Krasnoyarsk, is characterized by a predominance of downstream cargo flow, with grain occupying the main place in it.

The mouth of the Angara: the bulk of the timber comes from here and divides the flow of goods on the Yenisei. The main part goes up, and from the mouth to Dikson - down the river. In addition to timber, transportation of construction mineral materials and coal plays a significant role. The main ports are Krasnoyarsk, Yeniseisk, Dudinka, Igarka, and on the Angara - Makaryevo, Bratsk, Irkutsk, Ust-Ilimsk.

Lena and Cupid

On the Lena, shipping starts from the port of Osetrovo and extends to the river delta. Here, in addition to domestic goods, cargo is delivered that comes from the railway - from Tiksi Bay and Osetrovo. Two-thirds of the traffic is coal and building materials, the rest is timber and oil. Most of them go from top to bottom. Cargo operations are carried out in the ports of Kirensk, Osetrovo, Yakutsk, Vitim.

In the Far East, the Amur and its tributaries Bureya and Zeya are of great transport importance. The main cargoes are grain, salt, metal, coal, timber, oil and fish. Large ports are Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Blagoveshchensk, Khabarovsk. In these areas, due to the insufficiently developed infrastructure of land communications, river transport is also important in the transportation of passengers.

Sea transport

The main importance of maritime transport is that it provides a very significant part of Russia's foreign trade. Cabotage is essential only for supplying eastern and northern coasts countries. Freight turnover for maritime transport is eight percent. This is achieved as a result of the longest transportation distance - approximately 4.5 thousand kilometers. Passenger transportation by sea is insignificant.

Problems of maritime transport in Russia

On a planetary scale, sea transport ranks first in terms of cargo turnover, standing out for its lowest cost of cargo delivery. In the Russian Federation, it is relatively poorly developed, this is explained by the fact that the main economic centers of our country are significantly removed from seaports. In addition, most of the seas that surround Russian territory are frozen. This significantly increases the cost of using this. Another problem is the very outdated fleet of our country. Thus, Russian sea and river transport was built more than twenty years ago, which is unacceptable by world standards; such ships should be decommissioned. There are practically no modern types of vessels in the domestic fleet: lighter carriers, container ships, gas carriers, horizontal unloading and loading vessels, and others. Before the annexation of Crimea, Russia had only eleven major seaports, which is not enough for such a large country. As a result, about half of the cargo moving by sea routes, served by foreign ports. These are mainly former Soviet republics: Ukraine (Odessa), Estonia (Tallinn), Lithuania (Klaipeda). The use of sea transport shipping hubs of other states also contributes to large financial losses. If the situation with the Black Sea ports is more or less resolved, then on the coast Baltic Sea Construction of a new port is underway.

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