Water transport
Water transport plays an important role in carrying heavy and bulky goods over long
distances on the Transport. Main other hand, no means of transport is as cheap as
the water ways. It needs no maintenance. The only thing required for them is good
ports which have proper facilities for loading and unloading of goods. Water
transport can be broadly divided into two groups - Inland water transport and
Shipping. Shipping, in turn, can again be divided into two categories Coastal shipping
and Overseas shipping.
Inland water transportation
Inland water transport (IWT) is an integral component of the overall transport
system of the region and one of the most advantageous transport modes. It has the
least impact on the environment, the lowest cost for domestic and international
transport, enormous capacity reserves and the least energy consumption. IWT plays
an important role in providing effective services for the movement of cargo and
passengers on rivers, lakes and canals of the Asian and Pacific region. The region
has at least 280,000 kilometres of navigable waterways and more than 340,000 large
vessels and millions of country boats operate on those waterways, carrying more
than 1 billion tons of cargo and half a billion passengers each year. In some
countries, inland vessels carry more than 30 per cent of total freight traffic. In many
riparian areas the percentage reaches up to 50 per cent. Inland water transport,
including rivers and canals, represents an important, alternative and environmentally
friendly way of transporting goods. Inland water vessels can carry the equivalent of
between 14 and 500 truckloads and the total external cost of transport amounts to
only EUR 10 per 1,000 tonne kilometres. Inland water transport includes natural
modes as navigable rivers and artificial modes such as canals. The Inland waterways
have played an important role in the transport system since ancient times. However,
in recent times the importance of this mode of transport has declined considerably
with the expansion of road and rail transport. In addition, diversion of river water for
irrigation has also reduced the importance of inland water transport. The decline is
also due to deforestation of hill ranges leading to erosion, accumulation of silt in
rivers and failure to modernize the fleet to suit local conditions.
Inland water transport exists in a wide range of forms, satisfying an equally wide
range of needs. As Hilling (1996) says: “While the infinite variety of craft is part of
the history of water transport it is also part of the present….The distinct advantage
of water transport is this range of technology, unit capacity and ability to respond to
and reflect local conditions of environment and demand.” At one end of the size
range are small, unmechanised and generally family owned canoes and
small boats, used for local errands, visiting and going to market. At the other end are
powerful push-tow barge systems used on major rivers such as the Yangtze, Ganges,
Paraguay and Zaire and owned by State enterprises or multi-national corporations.
This paper is concerned mainly with the smaller end of the spectrum, as it has the
most direct and immediate effect on the lives of rural women and men. This end of
the spectrum can also be defined as the water transport that operates within the
informal sector. The vessels used within the sector are widely referred to as country
boats.
Costal shipping
An alternative definition is that costal shipping encompasses maritime transport
between the ports of a nation as well as between a nation’s ports and the ports of
adjacent countries. Non-generic definitions are also offered that situate costal
shipping within a region.
Costal shipping is developing within the context of national and international
transportation systems; primarily as a non-deep sea complementary segment to
truck and rail transport. Thus, its importance increases as it finds itself at the nexus
of a seamless intermodal transportation system that enjoys efficient cargo handling
at each node. Costal shipping is a beneficiary of technological advances related to
the vessels it uses and the congested and increasingly costly land transport of
goods.
coastal shipping holds a great promise more so because it is the most energy
efficient and cheapest mode of transport for carriage of bulky goods like iron and
steel, iron ore, coal, timber, etc. over long distances.
In 2000, costal shipping accounted for approximately 41%, and road transport for
approximately 45%, of ton-kilometers for cargo movement within the European
Union (EU). However, costal shipping accounted for only 6% of total tonnage
movement within the EU, compared to 80% for road transport, given that the sea
mode is used typically for longer distances. Costal shipping accounted for about
70% of the cargo movement, measured in ton-kilometers, beyond its borders. The
fact remains that although the sector is growing in size and importance; its growth
rate and resultant market share is reportedly less than that of road transport. Road
transport registered market shares of approximately 45% and 40% during 2000 and
1993 respectively. Although varying statistics are reported from multiple sources;
which create challenges when attempting to reconcile the data, the reader is
provided an insight as to the evolving market for costal shipping compared to road
transport.
The growth of costal shipping is consistent with the goals of the European
Commission as expressed in a number of forums and documents over an extended
period of time. The promotion of greater costal shipping appears to be a continued
expression of the Commission. Its research findings indicate that short sea shipping
is:
environmentally safe in terms of producing less carbon dioxide compared to
other modes of transport;
perceptually lacking in terms of its image to provide door-to-door service;
an administratively complex transport mode requiring varying administrative
procedures across different European Union member states; and
harmed by port inefficiencies and port service providers’ relative inflexibility.
Overseas shipping
Overseas shipping means the shipping activity that tranfer good from one place to
another by sea, ussualy its tranfer the goods to the far destination or to the other
country. Most of the overseas shipping involve of the transportation of good such as
oil, petroleum, finishing product and etc. Overseas shipping use the international
shipping route that have been recognise by the International Maritime
Organization(IMO).
Some of the important sea routes are:
North Atlantic Route
It is a sea route connecting Atlantic pacific oceans through Canada. It is the busiest
sea route in the world.
The Suez Canal Route
This canal connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Gulf of Suez and the red sea. It
was opened in 1869. Earlier one had to go via the Cape of Good Hope to go to
England which took almost 6 months but this canal has reduced the time taken. Now
it takes only two months to reach England. It is around 160 kilometers long.
The Panama Canal Route
The Panama Canal became operational in the year 1914. This canal connects the
Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. This canal has considerably reduced the
traveling time to 8 hours between the two oceans. Earlier the ships had to go via
Cape Horn.
References
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