Water transport. The importance of sea and river transport in the national economy

Water transport is an integral part of a single transport complex. It is subdivided into marine and river fleets. Maritime transport, in turn, is divided into merchant fleet and trawler, or fishing.

Sea transport is of great importance in the transport system of Russia: it is in fourth place in terms of cargo turnover after rail, road and pipeline. Unlike other modes of transport, this mode of transport mainly transports export-import goods. External (foreign) transportation of goods prevails. Domestic (coastal) transportation is not of great importance, with the exception of the coasts of the Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Among coastal transportations, the main role is played by small cabotage, or navigation along its coasts within one or two adjacent sea basins. Large cabotage - navigation of ships between Russian ports, lying in different sea basins, separated by the coastal territories of other states, is of less importance.

When using sea transport, the natural factor must be taken into account. The structure of goods transported by sea is as follows: oil products prevail here, and the role of ore, building materials, timber and grain cargoes is also significant.

Inland water transport Recently, it cannot withstand intense competition and is used less and less. It competes with rail transport, since the scope of their application is almost identical.

Mineral construction materials (sand, gravel, crushed stone, etc.) occupy a leading position in the structure of transported goods.

4.4 The role of pipeline transport

Over the past 15-20 Russia has become the largest state producing oil and gas. Most of the extracted raw materials are transported abroad. Russia's budget is directly tied to world oil and gas prices, and therefore this mode of transport is given great importance in our country, as it is the most profitable mode of transportation. This type of transport is characterized by the lowest cost and is used for pumping oil and oil products, gas. According to the purpose, the main pipelines are divided into oil pipelines, product pipelines, gas pipelines. Recently, other types of pipelines have also been developed (pulp pipelines, pneumatic pipelines, etc.)

The advantage of this type of transport is also the ability to operate throughout the year, high labor productivity, minimal losses during transportation, the possibility of laying pipelines over the shortest distance almost regardless of the terrain.

4.5 The role of air transport in the national economy

In the transport system of Russia, air transport is one of the main types of passenger transport. In its total work, the transportation of passengers is 4/5, and cargo and mail - 1/5. The use of air transport gives a large time gain (due to the high speed of the aircraft and from the straightening of the flight path) in comparison with other modes of transport at medium and especially long distances. It is believed that at a distance of more than 1000 km, this type of transport predominates in passenger traffic. (See Appendix 7)

An important role is played by air transport to ensure communication with the poorly developed regions of Siberia and the Far East, where it is almost the only means of communication.

Conclusion

The role of transport in the Russian economy is enormous. Transport has a comprehensive impact on the economic development of the country. Where the role of logistics is correctly understood, the state successfully develops in economic, political and social relations. And vice versa, underestimation of the importance of the transport system inevitably leads to a slowdown in the development of the state. The transport system must constantly develop adequately to the growing needs.

The underestimation and chronic backlog of logistics is largely due to a misunderstanding of the state significance as a special branch of the national economy. The transport factor is necessarily taken into account when locating production in a particular region, it is one of the most important.

The country's national economy annually suffers losses due to the disproportion in the technical equipment of various modes of transport, and especially between the level of development of permanent structures and the rolling stock fleet, for example, between the capacity of stations and the number of wagons; capacity of lines and traffic density of transport units; the length of highways and the number of cars gravitating towards them.

Like all sectors of the economy of our country, they require attracting investments, but this problem is still not solved due to the fact that foreign investors are afraid to invest in the Russian economy because of its unpredictability. Problems due to the lack of investment arise in the technical equipment of transport, especially of a domestic manufacturer, whose products lag behind their Western counterparts for many years due to the lack of development and implementation of these projects.

RIVER TRANSPORT, transports passengers and goods by waterways - natural (rivers, lakes) and artificial (canals, reservoirs). Allocate: the main river ways serving foreign trade transportations of several states; inter-district, serving transportation between large areas within the country; local, serving intra-district communications. The total length of river transport in the world is about 550 thousand km (1990s).

SEA TRANSPORT, a type of water transport that transports goods and passengers with the help of ships across the oceans, seas and sea channels. Maritime transport is divided into coastal (transportation between ports of one country) and international long-distance navigation. Passenger transportation by sea has almost been superseded by air and has survived mainly as recreational cruises.

VESSEL - this is a complex engineering structure capable of moving on water (conventional surface vessels), underwater (underwater vessels) and above water (hydrofoils and hovercraft). Fragments of trees were perhaps the first means of movement of people on water. Then they learned to tie several logs or bunches of dry reeds or papyrus into a raft. Even ancient people guessed to gouge a recess in a log in which a person could fit. So there was a boat. The boat is lighter and more maneuverable than a raft, and this is very important for sailing on water. The inhabitants of ancient Meatpotamia swam on inflated leather skins and in wicker baskets filled with resin and covered with leather. This method of manufacturing primitive ships was also known in Europe.

The frame, covered with bark or skin of a sea animal, was used for navigation along the rivers and seas by the inhabitants of northern Asia and America. And in ancient Egypt, 5000 years ago, ships were made from many pieces of wood, fastened to each other and caulked on the outside along the grooves and joints. The method of building ships from separate parts - frame and skin - led to an increase in size and improved seaworthiness of ships.

Initially, boats, rafts moved downstream with the help of poles and oars. Then a person learned to use the power of the wind to move ships: for the first time, sails appeared about 3000 BC in the Mediterranean Sea. In the 19th century, the fastest sailing ships were three and four-masted clippers. They transported valuable cargo (tea from China, wool from Australia) to Europe and America at speeds up to 16 knots (30 km/h). The speed record set by the Cutty Sark tea clipper - 21 knots (39 km/h) - has not yet been beaten by any of the sailing ships, even by special racing yachts.

With the advent of steam engines on ships, sails gradually lose their importance. The first river steamer "Clermont" was built in the USA in 1807 according to the project of R. Fulton, and the first sea steamer appeared in Russia in 1915. On the "Elizabeth" - this was the name of the ship - a steam engine was installed. A ship's boiler with a tall chimney was heated with firewood.

In 1894, the first ship was built with a steam turbine as the main engine. Now the turbine is the most powerful marine engine. Many ships operate steam turbines with a capacity of several tens and even hundreds of thousands of kilowatts.

In 1903, the world's first diesel tanker Vandal was built on the Volga. Since then, the widespread use of motor ships has begun - this is the name of ships in which the internal combustion engine (ICE) is the main engine. Inefficient steam reciprocating machines were gradually being replaced. They are almost never used on ships.

The heat generated in a nuclear reactor is also used to generate steam. Such installations first appeared on warships.

The first civilian nuclear-powered vessel, the Soviet nuclear-powered icebreaker Lenin, has been operating in the Arctic since 1959.

On modern ships, the operation of the main engine, ship power plant and boiler plant is automated. They are controlled from a central post in the engine room or from the wheelhouse, observing their work using remote control devices.

Warships are equipped with weapons and special devices (for example, for dropping mines, launching missiles, placing smoke screens), they have cellars for ammunition, places for placing aircraft and helicopters. Fishing vessels have special fishing gear and equipment for prey processing.

One of the main parts of the ship is the propeller. The simplest mover is an oar that requires the application of muscular strength.

A more advanced mover was a sail using wind energy. The paddle wheel was the first mover to convert the work of a mechanical engine into the movement of a ship. But if on the river, where the water is relatively calm, rowing oars were used until recently, then at sea, with strong excitement, they turned out to be of little use. The propeller, which replaced the paddle wheel, is now installed on almost all self-propelled ships, sea and river. The propeller, whose blades turn around their own axis, can move the ship not only forward, like a sail, but also backward, while the direction of rotation of the main engine does not need to be changed. Other types of propulsion have some valuable qualities. For example, the most convenient for ships sailing in shallow water is a jet propulsion. This is a pump that creates a jet, the recoil force of which moves the ship. A vane propeller located on the bottom of a horizontal disk with vertical blades - allows the vessel to move not only forward and backward, but also sideways: to do this, you need to turn the propeller blades around its axis.

Ships. Water transport, transportation

By purpose, all modern vessels can be divided into 4 main groups: transport, fishing, military and various auxiliary (including service, sports, research, etc.)

Transport ships carry cargo and passengers. 97% of all ships in the transport fleet are cargo ships, and only 3% are passenger ships. Cargo ships are divided into dry-cargo and tankers, there is also a mixed group of dry-cargo and tankers.

Dry cargo ships are divided into universal, suitable for the carriage of various dry cargoes, and specialized, adapted for cargoes of one or several types, for example: refrigerated ships, timber-grain carriers, bulk cargo ships, ore carriers, bulk carriers - container carriers.

Recently, ships carrying cargo have been built - in packages (packet carriers), in containers (container carriers), in car trailers (trailer carriers), in railway wagons (ferries) and even in barges with a carrying capacity of 200-700 tons or more (lighter carriers). The main advantage of such vessels is fast loading and unloading.

Tankers, or tankers, are the largest among cargo ships (their carrying capacity reaches 500 thousand tons), although there are tankers with a carrying capacity of only a few hundred tons.

Due to the dangerous nature of the cargo, oil tankers are equipped with air-foam fire-fighting installations, fire extinguishing systems with steam and carbon dioxide, and a system for filling tanks with inert gas.

It is not surprising that the most developed of the ancient civilizations - Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek - originated about 4000 years ago on the shores of the seas or large rivers. Water transport made it possible to make rather long journeys and make contact with other tribes and peoples, exchanging information with them, engaging in primitive trade and establishing rudimentary economic relations.

River transport is most developed in Western Europe on the Rhine, in North America on the Mississippi.

Railway competition affected the level of technical development of the river fleet of the capitalist countries. During the post-war years, there are some signs of the technical development of river transport, in particular, the proportion of motorized vessels is increasing.

During the period of the Second World War, the British merchant fleet, despite the increased construction of ships to replenish military losses, decreased from 18.0 million tons at the beginning of the war to 14.9 million tons in the middle of 1945. Although by 1952 Great Britain had completely stopped the size of its merchant fleet (its tonnage even exceeded the military one by 3.9%), nevertheless, the post-war development of the fleet lagged far behind the growth of world tonnage and the share of the British fleet in it continued to fall. The US Navy, little affected by hostilities, more than settled down during the years of World War II (from 11.4 million tons in mid-1945), but mainly due to the mass production of low-speed and extremely uneconomical (consuming too much fuel) ships (types Liberty and Victoria). In the post-war years, as merchant fleets and other capitalist countries recovered and grew, US ships were increasingly squeezed out of international traffic and laid up or scrapped: as a result, the tonnage of the US navy decreased by 16% from 1947 to 1953.

The latest technical trend in the development of maritime shipping is to increase the proportion of motorized ships (32% of world tonnage in 1954), the transfer of steam ships from coal to liquid fuel (50% of world tonnage), and to increase the speed of merchant ships to 16-20 knots against 12 before the war. , increasing the share of special tankers, refrigerators, timber carriers, ore carriers, increasing the size of vessels. Tankers with a carrying capacity of up to 60 thousand tons, passenger ships with a tonnage of up to 85 thousand tons are being built. t. In the composition of the world marine fleet, ships with a carrying capacity of 4 to 6 thousand tons make up 10.3% in terms of carrying capacity, from 6 to 8 thousand tons -37%, from 8 to 10 thousand, tons -12%, from 10 to 15 thousand tons -14.6%.

The main production assets of water transport from 1928 to 1953 increased six times. Due to the typed ships that replaced the obsolete ships, the river fleet has been updated. Of great importance is the introduction of freight motor ships, which make up to 15% of the total cargo turnover with delivery speeds that are not inferior to the speeds of block trains.

During the years of the five-year plans, the conditions for navigation on the rivers have been improved. Canals were built: the White Sea-Baltic, the Moscow Canal, the Volga-Don named after V. I. Lenin. The construction of the dam of the Dnieper power plant provided through navigation along the Dnieper. The formation of large reservoirs on the Volga, Kama and Dnieper created lacustrine conditions for navigation on these rivers. River routes carry 36.7% of the total volume of timber transportation, 21.5% of oil and oil products.

The share of river transport in the transportation of building materials (6%), coal (1.7%), bread (9%) is much less.

The marine merchant fleet, which suffered greatly during the Great Patriotic War, was replenished in the post-war years with a large number of steam and motor ships. In the sixth five-year period, the marine fleet was replenished with ships with economical engines and increased speeds: dry-cargo ships with a total carrying capacity of approximately 1140 thousand tons, oil tankers - 460 thousand tons, passenger ships with a total capacity of 198 horsepower and tugboats - 230 thousand horsepower. The most important seaports have been reconstructed and developed: Odessa, Zhdanov, Nikolaev, Novorossiysk, Leningrad, Murmansk and Vladivostok. A number of new seaports have been created, especially in the northern and eastern regions of the country (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Nakhodka and others.)

Water transport in military affairs

Water transport (river, sea) supplements the work of railways, and in some cases independently carries out transportation. Maritime transport is of paramount importance in the operations of troops in coastal areas. The large carrying capacity of maritime transport and technical improvements make it possible to organize large-scale amphibious landing operations and their material support. River communications are used for parallel operation with rail and road transport, and in some cases serve as independent communications.

Maritime transport in Russia

Maritime transport is of great importance in the transport system of Russia: it ranks third in terms of cargo turnover after rail and pipeline transport.

Maritime transport also plays an important role in the country's foreign economic relations and serves as one of the main sources of foreign exchange.

This is due to the fact that, unlike other modes of transport, ships transport mainly export-import cargo. External (foreign) transportation of goods prevails. Domestic (coastal) transportation is not of great importance, with the exception of the coasts of the Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Among coastal transportations, the main role is played by small cabotage, or navigation along its coasts within one or two adjacent sea basins. Large cabotage - navigation of ships between Russian ports lying in different sea basins, separated by coastal territories of other states - is of lesser importance.

Maritime transport surpasses other types of transport in many technical and economic indicators: sea transportation over long distances is cheaper; sea vessels, especially tankers, are distinguished by the largest unit carrying capacity, and sea routes - by almost unlimited throughput; the specific energy intensity of transportation is low.

At the same time, the dependence of maritime transport on natural conditions (especially in the conditions of freezing of the sea area), the need to create a complex and expensive port economy on the sea coasts, remoteness from the sea coasts of the main economic regions and centers of the country, relatively weak economic and foreign trade relations with countries, located outside of Europe limit its scope in Russia.

Due to insufficient depths, 60% of Russian ports are unable to receive large-capacity vessels. The production capacities of the ports allow to meet only 54% of the needs of cargo handling, the rest of the export-import cargo is processed in the Baltic States, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan.

Now there are 216 transshipment complexes for dry cargo ships and 26 tankers in Russia, but after the collapse of the USSR, the country was left without complexes for transshipment of potassium salts, oil cargo and liquefied gas, without railway crossings to Germany and Bulgaria. Only one portside elevator for receiving imported grain and one specialized complex for receiving imported raw sugar remained.

In terms of tonnage, the Russian merchant fleet ranks seventh in the world (16.5 million deadweight tons), but most of the ships are so physically worn out that they do not allow many of them to enter foreign ports. Of the 5.6 thousand vessels, 46% are fishing and fish transport, 1.1 thousand vessels are intended for the transport of general cargo, 245 vessels are oil tankers. The fleet lacks modern types of ships, such as lighter carriers, container ships, combination ships, sea ferries, Ro-Ro (i.e. ro-ro) ships.

The specifics of Russia's foreign trade and transportation by sea predetermined the predominance of bulk and volumetric cargo, primarily oil. The share of ore, building materials, coal, timber and grain cargoes is also significant.

The structure of the transport fleet is very irrational. The problems of maritime transport in Russia require an immediate solution, as they have a great impact on the economic situation in the country.

Inland water transport

Inland water transport (or river) is one of the oldest modes of transport. Russia has a large and extensive network of river routes and lakes. However, it plays a significant role either in those regions where the directions of the main transport and economic ties and river routes coincide (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 countries).

The length of operated inland waterways in Russia has been declining in recent decades and currently stands at 89 thousand km. The share of river transport in freight turnover is also falling (2% in 1998), since it cannot compete with other types of mainline transport, and above all with rail transport, the scope of which is almost identical in comparison with river transport.

This is due to the fact that the main mass flows are carried out in the latitudinal direction, and most navigable rivers have a meridional direction. The seasonal nature of river transportation also has a negative impact. Freezing on the Volga lasts from 100 to 140 days, on the rivers of Siberia - from 200 to 240 days. River transport is inferior to other types and in speed. But it also has advantages: a lower cost of transportation, it requires less capital costs for the arrangement of tracks than in land modes of transport.

Moreover, river transport is practically turning into a specific type of technological transport, since over 70% of the goods transported by it are mineral building materials. It is economically unprofitable to transport the latter over long distances, since the coefficient of the transport component for mineral building materials is maximum for all types of transported goods. Therefore, the average distance of transportation of 1 ton of cargo by river transport is constantly decreasing and at present, taking into account all types of river communications, is less than 200 km.

The river fleet includes self-propelled vessels with a carrying capacity of 2-3 thousand tons, dry cargo ships of the Volga-Don type, tankers with a carrying capacity of 5 thousand tons and large barges. Since the beginning of the 1960s, river-sea vessels have been in operation, allowing navigation not only along rivers, but also in the coastal waters of the seas, which significantly reduces the volume of reloading work at the river-sea junctions. This type of vessel is used not only on inland river and sea routes, but also for export-import operations on lines connecting the Volga with the ports of Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and other countries.

Mineral building materials (sand, gravel, crushed stone, etc.) occupy a leading position among the transported goods. Up to 3/4 of transported building materials are mined by means of river transport in riverbeds. The next most important cargo is timber. They account for more than 1/10 of the total volume of traffic. Almost 3/4 of all timber cargo is transported in rafts, and 1/4 - in the holds of ships. Therefore, the cost of transporting roundwood by river transport is several times less than by rail. Where possible, river routes are used as much as possible for the transport of timber in rafts. Transportation of oil, oil products, coal and grain is also relatively large.

Development of maritime transport

The development of maritime transport in Russia is determined by the geographical position, the nature of the seas washing the country's territory, the level of development of productive forces, and the international division of labor.

Russia has 39 ports and 22 port points. The length of the berths is 60.5 thousand km. Major ports are St. Petersburg, Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Novorossiysk, Tuapse, Nakhodka, Vladivostok, Vanino, etc. In connection with the development of natural resources of the Far North and the Far East, year-round navigation to Norilsk, Yamal, Novaya Zemlya is provided. Here the ports are of the greatest importance: Dudinka, Igarka, Tiksi, Pevek.

Changes in the geopolitical position of Russia have drastically reduced the possibility of using maritime transport in international trade, since most of the large and well-equipped seaports of the Black Sea and Baltic basins have gone to other states.

Only one portside elevator for receiving imported grain and one specialized complex for receiving imported raw sugar remained.

The entire sea area of Russia is divided into 5 sea basins, in which work is carried out on the transportation of goods and passengers. Each of them gravitates to specific economic regions.

The historical factor determined the concentration of the main work of the sea transport of the former USSR in the large ports of the Black Sea-Azov and Baltic basins: they accounted for 2/3 of the total cargo turnover of the sea transport of the USSR. The transition to the jurisdiction of other states of the largest ports - Odessa, Ilyichevsk, Riga, Novotallinsky, Klaipeda, Ventspils and others - has led to the fact that the capacity of Russian seaports only satisfies its own needs by 1/2.

The first place in cargo turnover went to the Far East Basin (46.5% of all cargo shipped in 1994 by Russian sea transport), covering a significant territory of the Far East economic region. In this region, sea transport for the entire coast from the Bering Strait to Vladivostok is the main mode of transport and performs small and large cabotage, as well as international transportation.

Through the ports of the Far Eastern Basin (Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinskiy, Vladivostok, Magadan, Nakhodka, Okhotsk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Provideniya, Sovetskaya Gavan, Ust-Kamchatsk, Kholmsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), foreign trade relations with the countries of the Pacific region are carried out, as well as transport and economic connections with the coastal regions of the Far East. The largest here are the seaports on the coast of the Sea of Japan: Vladivostok, Nakhodka, the new Vostochny port located near it with large coal and timber terminals, as well as the port of Vanino on the line of the Vanino-Kholmsk railway sea ferry (Sakhalin Island).

In second place is the Black Sea-Azov basin (23.7% of shipped cargo), which occupies an advantageous geographical position and has access to the countries of Europe and the Middle East. A part of the territory of the North Caucasian economic region, a number of regions of the Central, Ural and Volga economic regions gravitate towards it.

Through the ports of the Black Sea basin remaining in Russia (Azov, Yeysk, Novorossiysk, Taganrog, Sochi, Tuapse, etc.), oil is mainly exported. The largest oil port in Russia in terms of cargo turnover, Novorossiysk, is located here with the Sheskha-ris deep-water oil pier, which allows servicing ships with a carrying capacity of up to 250 thousand tons. Tuapse oil port is also of less importance. The implementation of major oil projects in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, as well as Russia's need for the export of liquefied gas, created the prerequisites for the construction of a number of new oil and gas ports and berths on the Russian Black Sea coast. It is also planned to develop the Taganrog port and build a new large seaport on the Azov coast.

The third place is occupied by the Northern Basin (or the basin of the Arctic Ocean - 15.0% of shipped cargo), transporting cargo from four adjacent economic regions: Northern, Ural, West Siberian and partially East Siberian. The vessels of this basin carry out the transportation of goods for the population and enterprises of the entire coast of the Far North, i.e., they carry out large cabotage between such Arctic ports as Tiksi, the mouths of the Khatanga, Yana, Indigirka, Kolyma rivers and the port of Pevek.

There are two ports in the Arctic Ocean basin - Murmansk on the coast of the Barents Sea and Arkhangelsk in the White Sea. They account for more than half of the cargo turnover of the entire basin. Arkhangelsk is a specialized timber export port of Russia. Murmansk is the only ice-free port of Russia in the north.

The ports of Dikson, Dudinka, Igarka, Tiksi, Pevek, located on the Northern Sea Route, are of great importance for providing the regions of the Far North of Russia. In the most heavily loaded western sector of the Northern Sea Route (Murmansk-Dudinka), year-round navigation has been established with the help of nuclear-powered icebreakers. On the eastern section (from Dixon to Provideniya Bay), navigation is carried out sporadically.

The Baltic basin occupies approximately the same place in terms of cargo shipments as the Arctic Ocean basin (14.5%). The Northwestern economic region, as well as a number of regions of the Volga-Vyatka and Ural economic regions, gravitate towards it. The access to this basin of the regions of the Volga-Vyatka and Ural economic regions is due to the high development of industry and external relations of a number of industries.

The main seaports here are: Baltiysk, Vyborg, Kaliningrad and the largest and most versatile Russian port in the Baltic - St. Petersburg. The port of Kaliningrad has a smaller cargo turnover. However, its importance for ensuring transport links between the enclave Kaliningrad region and the main territory of Russia can hardly be overestimated. To ensure Russia's foreign trade transport links across the Baltic Sea near St. Petersburg in the Luga Bay, the construction of a new large seaport is planned.

The North Caucasian and Volga economic regions adjoin the Caspian basin (only 0.4% of shipped cargo). Through navigable rivers and canals, it is connected with almost all sea basins of the European part of Russia. Two relatively large ports operate here: Makhachkala and the combined sea and river Astrakhan. The first stage of the Olya deep-water port has been erected. In connection with the rise in the level of the Caspian Sea, significant difficulties are observed in the work of the Caspian ports, especially Makhachkala.

Development of river transport

Russia has a large and extensive network of river routes and lakes. However, it plays a significant role either in those regions where the directions of the main transport and economic ties and river routes coincide (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 countries).

There are more than 100,000 rivers in Russia, with a total length of about 2.5 million km, of which over 500,000 km are suitable for navigation.

There are main river routes serving international communications, inter-district ones, providing transportation of goods and people between large regions within the country, and local ones, providing intra-district communications.

The length of operated inland waterways in Russia has been declining in recent decades and currently stands at 89,000 km; also, the average transportation distance of 1 ton of cargo is constantly decreasing in river transport, and at present, taking into account all types of river communications, it is less than 200 km.

Inland navigable waterways belong to different river basins. The predominant part of freight traffic and cargo turnover is carried out by the shipping companies of three water transport basins: the Volga-Kama, West Siberian and North-Western.

Most of the turnover of river transport falls on the European part of the country. The most important transport river artery here is the Volga with its tributary Kama. In the north of the European part of Russia, the Northern Dvina, Onega and Ladoga lakes, the Svir and Neva rivers play a significant role. Of great importance for the development of river transport in the country was the creation of a unified deep-water system and the construction of the White Sea-Baltic, Volga-Baltic, Moscow-Volga and Volga-Don canals. In connection with the development of natural resources in the east of the country, the transport significance of the Ob, Irtysh, Yenisei, Lena, and Amur is increasing. Their role is especially noticeable in providing areas of pioneer development, where there are practically no overland transport routes. At present, due to the economic crisis, there is a reduction in the volume of transportation of goods and passengers by river transport, the length of inland waterways, and the number of berths.

The Volga-Kama basin, serving the economically most developed and densely populated regions of the European part of Russia, is the main one. It accounts for more than 1/2 of the cargo turnover of the entire river transport of the country. The vast majority of traffic in this basin is carried out along the Volga, Kama and the Moscow Canal. The largest ports in the basin are: three Moscow (Southern, Western and Northern), Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara, Volgograd and Astrakhan.

In second place in terms of the volume of work performed is the West Siberian basin, which includes the Ob with its tributaries. Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk, Tobolsk, Tyumen, Surgut, Urengoy, Labytnangi are major ports here.

The third most important is the water transport basin of the European North. The main artery of the basin is the Northern Dvina with its tributaries Sukhona and Vychegda. The leading port of the basin is Arkhangelsk.

Important for the supply of Yakutsk and the industrial centers of Yakutia are the Lena and the port of Osetrovo, located at its intersection with the BAM.

The core of the water transport system is the Unified deep water system of the European part of Russia with a total length of 6.3 thousand km. It includes the deep-water sections of the Volga (from Tver to Astrakhan), the Kama (from Solikamsk to the mouth), the Moskva River, the Don, and inter-basin deep-water connections - the Moscow-Volga, Volga-Baltic, White Sea-Baltic, Volga-Don. Making up only 6% of the total length of inland waterways, this system performs over 2/3 of the entire transportation work of the country's river transport. Guaranteed depths of up to 4-4.5 m are provided on the waterways of the Unified Deep-Sea System.

Types of water transport

Water transport is used to transport people and non-perishable goods. Modern water transport is certainly slower than air transport, but it is more efficient when transporting large quantities of cargo.

By its nature, water transport has always been international. Barges, boats, ships or liners can act as a watercraft. Canals, rivers, seas, oceans - they all spread out in front of water transport. Ships carry chemicals, oil products, coal, iron ore, grain, bauxite and other substances.

In general, all types of water transport can be divided into the following types:

- bulk carrier (dry cargo) - cargo ships in Kyiv, which carry bulk cargo: ore or grain. You can recognize it by the large, box-shaped hatches from which the cargo is unloaded. Bulk carriers are usually very large for lakes, but there was a precedent for such ships to sail on the Great Lakes of Canada.

- tankers : cargo ships for the transport of liquid substances, such as crude oil, petroleum products, liquefied natural gas, chemicals, vegetables, wine and more. Tankers carry a third of all cargo in the world.

- ro-ro (trailer ships) - cargo ships in which cargo is transported on wheels: cars, trucks, railway cars. They are designed so that the cargo can be easily rolled in and out in the port.

- tugboats - ships designed for maneuvering, pushing other watercraft in bays, the open sea or along rivers or canals. They are used to transport barges, non-working ships and so on.

- oyster ships - vessels used to lift things from the seabed in shallow water and in river water.

Coastal vessels (small coastal navigation vessel) are frame vessels that were used for trading within the same island or continent. Their flat bottom made it possible to pass between reefs where sea vessels could not enter.

-refrigerated ships - cargo ships are used to transport perishable products that require a special temperature: fruits, meat, fish, vegetables, dairy products, etc.

- container ships – cargo ships that are loaded with containers. They are the most common multimodal transport vessels. They use diesel fuel during work, the team: 20-40 people. A container ship can carry up to 15,000 containers per voyage.

- ferries - a type of water transport that serves to transport passengers and sometimes their transport from coast to coast. Sometimes ferries are used to transport vehicles or trains. Most ferries operate on a strict schedule. A multi-stop ferry, such as the one in Venice, is sometimes referred to as a waterbus or waterbus. Ferries are often an attribute of island cities, as they cost much less than tunnels and bridges.

Cruise ships are passenger ships for walks and recreation on the water. Millions of tourists use cruise ships every year.

These ships are updated regularly.

- cable ships - deep-sea vehicles in Kyiv, which are used for laying telecommunications, electrical and other cables.

- barges - flat ships that go mainly along rivers and canals and carry heavy cargo. Most barges cannot move on their own, so tugs are required for them. During the beginning of the industrial revolution, barges, which were transported with the help of special animals or people, were used on a par with the railway, but later fell out of favor due to the laboriousness and high cost of transportation.

The infrastructure of water transport includes ports, docks, piers, shipyards. In the port, ships are loaded or unloaded, they undergo technical inspection at the docks, and they are repaired there.

Maritime transport is important primarily because it provides a significant part of Russia's foreign trade relations. Domestic transportation (cabotage) is essential only for supplying the northern and eastern coasts of the country. The share of maritime transport in cargo turnover is 8%, although the mass of transported goods is less than 1% of the total. This ratio is achieved through the longest average transportation distance is about 4.5 thousand km. Passenger transportation by sea is negligible.

On a global scale maritime transport ranks first in terms of cargo turnover, standing out for the minimum transport of goods. In Russia, it is relatively underdeveloped, since the main economic centers of the country are far from the sea coasts. In addition, most of the seas surrounding the country's territory are freezing, which increases the cost of using maritime transport. A serious problem is country's outdated navy. Most of the ships were built over 20 years ago and should be scrapped by world standards. There are practically no ships of modern types: gas carriers, lighter carriers, container carriers, 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 such magnitude. About half of the Russian cargoes going by sea are served by the ports of other states. These are mainly the 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 East. Its main ports are rarely frozen Vladivostok and Nakhodka. Near Nakhodka, a modern port Vostochny was built with terminals for the export of coal and timber. The port of Vanino, located on the final section of the Baikal-Amur Railway, is also of great importance. A ferry operates in this port, connecting the railway network of mainland Russia with the network of Sakhalin Island (the port of Kholmsk).

In second place in terms of cargo turnover is the Northern Basin. 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 open all 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 largest is the Baltic basin. The main ports in it are St. Petersburg (freezing) and Kaliningrad (non-freezing). The use of the convenient Kaliningrad port is difficult, since it is separated from the main part of Russia by the territories of foreign states. Near St. Petersburg there is a small port of Vyborg, through which mainly timber cargoes go. The ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk are under construction.

In fourth place in terms of cargo turnover is the Cheriosea-Azov basin. Two non-freezing oil export ports are located here - Novorossiysk (the most powerful in Russia) and Tuapse. Maritime transport also includes transportation in the Caspian Sea. The largest here are the ports of Astrakhan (both sea and river) and Makhachkala, through which mainly oil cargoes go.

River transport

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

More than half of the cargo turnover of the country's river transport falls on the Volga-Kama basin. It is connected by canals 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, Severny, Yuzhny and Zapadny in Moscow, Kazan, Samara, Volgograd, Astrakhan. The second place in terms of cargo turnover is occupied by the West Siberian basin, which includes the Ob with tributaries. In it, in addition to building materials, a significant share in transportation is oil cargo. The main ports are Novosibirsk, Tobolsk, Surgut, Labytnangi, Tyumen. The third in Russia is the basin of the Northern Dvina with tributaries of the Sukhona and Vychegda. In it, a significant share in transportation is 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 main amount of cargo is delivered to these territories in the summer either from the south of the railway (via the Yenisei from Krasnoyarsk, along the Lena from Ust-Kut), or from river mouths, where cargo is delivered by sea.

Transport is one of the key industries of any state. The volume of transport services largely depends on the state of the country's economy. However, transport itself often stimulates an increase in the level of activity of the economy. It releases opportunities hidden in the underdeveloped regions of the country or the world, allows you to expand the scale of production, link production and consumers.

The special place of transport in the sphere of production lies in the fact that, on the one hand, the transport industry is an independent branch of production, and therefore a special branch of investment of production capital. But on the other hand, it differs in that it is a continuation of the process of production within the process of circulation and for the process of circulation.

Transport is an important component of the Russian economy, as it is a material carrier between regions, industries, and enterprises. The specialization of regions and their integrated development are impossible without a transport system. The transport factor has an impact on the location of production, without taking it into account it is impossible to achieve a rational distribution of productive forces. When locating production, the need for transportation, the mass of raw materials for finished products, their transportability, availability of transport routes, their throughput, etc. are taken into account. Depending on the influence of these components, enterprises are located. The rationalization of transportation affects the efficiency of production, both of individual enterprises and regions, and of the country as a whole.

Transport is also important in solving social and economic problems. The provision of the territory with a well-developed transport system is one of the important factors in attracting the population and production, is an important advantage for the location of productive forces and provides an integration effect.

The specificity of transport as a sphere of the economy lies in the fact that it does not produce products itself, but only participates in its creation, providing production with raw materials, materials, equipment and delivering finished products to the consumer. Transport costs are included in the cost of production. In some industries, transport costs are very significant, such as, for example, in the forestry, oil industries, where they can reach 30% of the cost of production. The transport factor is of particular great importance in our country with its vast territory and uneven distribution of resources, population and fixed production assets.

Transport creates conditions for the formation of local and national markets. In the conditions of transition to market relations, the role of rationalization of transport increases significantly. On the one hand, the efficiency of the enterprise depends on the transport factor, which in the conditions of the market is directly related to its viability, and on the other hand, the market itself implies the exchange of goods and services, which is impossible without transport, therefore, the market itself is also impossible. Therefore, transport is an essential part of the market infrastructure.

Maritime transport plays an important role in the country's foreign economic relations. It is one of the main sources of foreign exchange funds. The importance of maritime transport for Russia is determined by its position on the shores of three oceans and the length of the sea border of 40 thousand kilometers. Ports in the Baltic: Kaliningrad, Baltic, St. Petersburg, Vyborg; on the Black Sea: Novorossiysk (oil and cargo), Taganrog. Other major ports: Murmansk, Nakhodka, Argangelsk, Vladivostok, Vanino. Other ports (about 30) are small.

The production capacities of the ports make it possible to meet only 54% of the need for cargo handling. The main cargoes transported by sea are oil, ores, building materials, coal, grain, timber. Major ports are St. Petersburg, Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Novorossiysk, Tuapse, Nakhodka, Vladivostok, Vanino, etc. In connection with the development of the natural resources of the Far North and the Far East, year-round navigation to Norilsk, Yamal, Novaya Zemlya is provided. Here the ports are of the greatest importance: Dudinka, Igarka, Tiksi, Pevek. The construction of two ports in St. Petersburg is planned.

Russia has transshipment complexes for dry cargo and tankers, but after the collapse of the USSR, the country was left without complexes for transshipment of potassium salts, oil cargo and liquefied gas, without railway crossings to Germany and Bulgaria, there was only one port elevator for receiving imported grain and one specialized complex for acceptance of imported raw sugar. 60% of Russian ports are not able to receive large-tonnage vessels due to insufficient depths. The structure of the transport fleet is very irrational. The problems of maritime transport in Russia require an immediate solution, as they have a great impact on the economic situation of the country.

River transport has a small share in the cargo and passenger turnover of Russia. This is due to the fact that the main mass flows are carried out in the latitudinal direction, and most navigable rivers have a meridional direction. The seasonal nature of river transportation also has a negative impact. Freezing on the Volga lasts from 100 to 140 days, on the rivers of Siberia - from 200 to 240 days. River transport is inferior to other types and in speed. But it also has advantages: a lower cost of transportation, it requires less capital costs for the arrangement of tracks than in land modes of transport. The main types of river transport cargo are mineral building materials, timber, oil, oil products, coal, grain.

In connection with the development of natural resources in the east of the country, the transport significance of the Ob, Irtysh, Yenisei, Lena, and Amur is increasing. Their role is especially noticeable in providing areas of pioneer development, where there are practically no overland transport routes.

Inland river navigation routes of Russia are 80 thousand kilometers. The share of inland water transport in the total freight turnover is 3.9%. The role of river transport is increasing sharply in a number of regions of the North, Siberia and the Far East.

The main in Russia is the Volga-Kama river basin, which accounts for 40% of the cargo turnover of the river fleet. Thanks to the Volga-Baltic, White Sea-Baltic and Volga-Don canals, the Volga became the core of the unified water system of the European part of Russia, and Moscow became the river port of five seas.

Other important rivers of European Russia include the Northern Dvina with its tributaries, the Sukhona, the Onega, the Svir, and the Neva.

In Siberia, the main rivers are the Yenisei, Lena, Ob and their tributaries. All of them are used for shipping and timber rafting, transportation of food and industrial goods to separate regions. The significance of the Siberian river routes is very significant, due to the underdevelopment of railways (especially in the meridional direction). Rivers connect the southern regions of Western and Eastern Siberia with the Arctic. Oil from Tyumen is transported along the Ob and Irtysh. The Ob is navigable for 3600 km, the Yenisei - 3300 km, the Lena - 4000 km (navigation lasts 4-5 months). The ports of the lower reaches of the Yenisei - Dudinka and Igarka - are available for sea vessels following the Northern Sea Route. The largest transshipment points for cargo from rivers to railways are Krasnoyarsk, Bratsk, Ust-Kut.

The most important river artery of the Far East is the Amur. Navigation is carried out along the entire length of the river.

Currently, due to the economic crisis, there is a reduction in the volume of transportation of goods and passengers by river transport, the length of inland waterways, and the number of berths.

In terms of cargo turnover, maritime transport ranks 4th after rail, pipeline and road transport. The total cargo turnover is 100 billion tons. It plays a leading role in the transport services for the regions of the Far East and the Far North. The importance of maritime transport in Russia's foreign trade is great. It accounts for 73% of cargo shipments and more than 90% of international cargo turnover.

Advantages of maritime mode of transport over other modes. Firstly, transport has the largest unit carrying capacity, secondly, the unlimited capacity of sea routes, thirdly, a small amount of energy required to transport 1 ton of cargo, and fourthly, the low cost of transportation. In addition to the advantages of maritime transport, there are also significant disadvantages: dependence on natural conditions, the need to create a complex port economy, and limited use in direct sea communications.

After the collapse of the USSR, 8 shipping companies and 37 ports remained in Russia with a total cargo handling capacity of up to 163 million tons per year, of which 148 million tons are in the Baltic and Northern basins. The average age of Russian ships is 17 years, which is much worse than the corresponding characteristics of the world merchant fleet. There are only 4 large shipyards left in the country, 3 of which are located in St. Petersburg. Only 55% of the deadweight of the Union's transport fleet, including 47.6% of the dry cargo fleet, became the property of Russia. Russia's sea transportation needs are 175 million tons per year, while the country's fleet is capable of carrying about 100 million tons per year. The remaining seaports on the territory of Russia can only handle 62% of Russian cargo, including 95% coastal and 60% export-import. For the transportation of incoming imported food and for the export of goods, Russia uses the ports of neighboring states: Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia.

In 2000, the rise of the port industry. Russian ports in the foreign trade subsystem increase their competitiveness with the ports of neighboring states. With great difficulty, our sailors managed to maintain the unique system for ensuring the functioning of the Northern Sea Route. Inland water transport is still key in providing resources to the northern and remote territories of Russia. But water, as well as road, rail, and air transport, lacks sources of funding. It is necessary, first of all, to preserve the established system of navigable routes with a length of over 100,000 km, on which there are over 700,000 navigable hydraulic structures. And today we must take care of the technical condition of these facilities so that they are reliable in the future as well.

River transport plays a significant role in the intra- and inter-district transportation of the country. The advantages of river transport lie in the natural routes, the arrangement of which requires less capital expenditure than the construction of railways. The cost of transporting goods by rivers is lower than by rail, and labor productivity is 35% higher.

The main disadvantages of river transport are seasonal nature, limited use due to the configuration of the river network, and low speed. In addition, large rivers in our country flow from north to south, and the main flows of bulk cargo have a latitudinal direction.

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; the expansion of mixed rail-water transportation and transportation, such as river-sea.

River transport is an important part of the country's ETS. It occupies one of the leading places in servicing the large industrial centers of the riverine areas.

Russia has the most extensively developed network of inland waterways in the world. The length of inland waterways is 101 thousand km. Of greatest importance are the tracks with guaranteed depths, which allows for uninterrupted transportation of goods and passengers.

River transport is one of the oldest in the country; it is of particular importance for the northern and eastern regions, where the density of railways and roads is low or they do not exist at all. In these regions, the share of river transport in the total cargo turnover is 3.9%.

River transport has a small share in freight and passenger traffic - 4th place in Russia.

This is due to reasons:

one). The meridional direction of river transport (while the main cargo flows are carried out in the latitudinal direction W-E; E-W, this circumstance makes it necessary to combine modes of transport, using, for example, mixed rail-water transportation).

2). The seasonal nature of river transport (which is limited by weather conditions, and sometimes by the time of day, for example, a high-speed passenger fleet is not operated at night).

The duration of navigation on the inland waterways of Russia ranges from 145 days (in the East and North-East of the country) to 240 days (in the South and South-West).

In the inter-navigation period, ports work in cooperation with rail and road transport, despite the fact that low-speed river transport is inferior to other modes of transport in terms of speed, but it has its own advantages.

Advantages of river transport:

1. Low cost of transportation

2. Requires less cost for the arrangement of tracks than in land modes of transport.

The importance of water transport is especially great for the Northern and Eastern regions of the country, where the railway network is insufficient, the density of the network of inland waterways is 2 times greater than the average for the Russian Federation.

Hence, the share of river transport in the total cargo turnover of these regions is 65-90%, in Russia as a whole this figure is 3.7%.

The role of river transport in the country's economy is determined not so much by the scale of transport work, but by the special significance of the functions they perform.

In addition to transport services for the regions of Siberia, the Far East, including the Arctic, river transport performs complex and expensive transportation along small rivers in hard-to-reach areas, as well as highly profitable transportation along small rivers in hard-to-reach areas, as well as highly profitable transportation of foreign trade cargo by vessels of mixed (river-sea) navigation .

Currently, inland waterways are operated by 5,000 shipowners of various forms of ownership.

The length of inland waterways is 101 thousand km.

The main types of cargoes of river transport:

Mineral building materials/sand;

fertilizers;

Grain and other agricultural products.

According to the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, the total volume of freight traffic inland waterway transport in 2007 amounted to 152.4 million tons, which is 9.5% more than in 2006. The increase in this volume was mainly due to an increase in the duration of navigation. The transportation of dry cargo (cement, metal, timber and building materials) increased by 12.5%. At the same time, the volume of transportation of oil and oil products decreased by almost a third. More than a third of the total volume of river transportation is carried out in the Volga Federal District. The country's river ports handled 15% more cargo than in 2006.

Capital investments of the state in 2007, intended for the development of the infrastructure of inland waterways, amounted to almost 2.6 billion rubles, which is 1.6 times more than in 2006. This made it possible to reconstruct a number of lock facilities on the Volga-Baltic waterway. way, the Volga-Don Canal, in the Kama basin, the Samara hydroelectric complex.

In 2008, 4 billion rubles were allocated from the state budget for the overhaul of navigable hydraulic structures of river transport. They are aimed at the reconstruction of 47 objects.

Currently, a draft subprogram "Inland waterways" is being developed, which should become part of the Federal Target Program "Development of the transport system of Russia in 2010-2015." The total amount of funding for this subprogram is set at 235 billion rubles. As a result of its implementation, the share of deep water areas in the total length of navigable rivers in the European part of our country will increase to 86%. Almost 2.5 km of new berths will be built in river ports.

River systems and ports.

The economy of the river fleet of Russia has 178 joint-stock companies of an open type, including 27 shipping companies, 50 ports, 46 ship repair and shipbuilding enterprises, etc. 96 enterprises are state-owned, of which 27 are state-owned enterprises, 17 are state institutions, 14 are shipping inspections, 14 - inspections by the River Register, 24 - educational institutions.

Fourteen ports of river transport accept foreign vessels.

The main one in Russia is the Volga-Kama river basin, to which the economically developed part of the country gravitates (40% of the cargo turnover of the river fleet). Thanks to the Volga-Baltic, White Sea-Baltic and Volga-Don navigable canals, the Volga became the core of the unified water system of the European part of Russia, and Moscow became the river port of five seas.

The most important transport rivers in the north of the European part of Russia are: Sukhona, Northern Dvina with tributaries, Onega, Svir, Neva.

Siberia and the Far East have huge navigable river routes. The greatest rivers of Russia flow here - Amur, Yenisei, Lena, Ob and their tributaries. All of them are used for shipping and timber rafting, transportation of food and industrial goods to remote areas. The importance of river transport for Siberia is very great, since the network of railways (especially in the meridional direction) is still insufficient there.

Currently, about 5 thousand shipowners of various forms of ownership operate inland waterways, including about 30 joint-stock shipping companies (river shipping companies). The river fleet of the Russian Federation serves 68 republics, territories, regions and national districts.

Technical equipment for river transport.

The material and technical base (MTB) of river transport is formed by:

Waterway (with associated facilities and equipment);

Ports and marinas;

Shipyards (shipyards and shipyards);

The classification of the rolling stock is shown in the figure.

The fleet (similar to maritime transport) is the basis of MTB, the main part of the technical equipment of river transport consists of vessels of various types:

Transport purpose (for transportation of goods and passengers) with a total tonnage > 14 million tons, of which< 1,5 млн. т приходится на суда смешанного плавания (река-море).

Service and auxiliary (tugboats, icebreakers, tankers) total capacity of tugboats - 1.6 million tons.

Technical (dredging, cranes, etc.) a sharp increase in their construction cost stopped renewal.

River routes are subdivided depending on depth and capacity into 7 classes and 4 main groups: superhighways (1st class), highways (2nd class), local routes (4th, 5th classes), small rivers (6th, 7th grades). In river transport, there are various technical facilities that ensure the efficiency and safety of work. These are, first of all, locks for the passage of ships from one water level to another, beacons - signs to indicate dangers on the way or fencing the fairway, alignments - signs in the form of tower structures or pillars installed on the fairway line to indicate the direction, places of turns, etc. d.

Deep-water inland waterways have a large carrying capacity, they can be compared with multi-track railways, and they are adapted to the mass transportation of goods and passengers. Transportation of some goods by river transport along the main inland waterways is 2-3 times cheaper than by parallel railways.

The main differences between river vessels and sea vessels:

a) less draft;

b) overall dimensions (due to shallow depths and sinuosity of most of the river routes, as well as the narrowness of the fairway);

c) the absence of a number of elements in the design and equipment (necessary on sea ships, which is due to the specific conditions of navigation on rivers), while river ships that go to large lakes and sea routes are almost the same in design as sea ships. The average age of river vessels is 20 years, about ½ of all transport vessels (except dry cargo barges) are over 20 years old.

The river fleet consists of:

Self-propelled ships (passenger, cargo, cargo-passenger);

Non-self-propelled vessels (barges for various purposes);

Tugs (pushers - vessels without their own cargo spaces, but with a power plant for traction (towing) of non-self-propelled vessels);

Specialized vessels (vegetable carriers, a / mobile carriers, oil and ore carriers, river-sea vessels, barges, refrigerators).

The waterway is the navigable part of rivers, lakes, reservoirs and artificial canals with hydraulic structures.

The waterway is characterized by:

Depth;

latitude;

The radius of curvature (rotation);

According to the dimensions of the ship's passage, waterways are distinguished:

Superhighways - with guaranteed depths up to 4 m;

Highways - with guaranteed depths up to 2.6 m;

Local roads - with guaranteed depths up to 1 m.

Waterways are:

Navigable (on which safe navigation of ships is possible);

Floating (for timber rafting).

Shipping distinguish: - natural (rivers and lakes);

Artificial (canals and reservoirs).

Ports are the basis of the river transport coastal economy, where ships are loaded and unloaded, passengers are boarded and disembarked, and ships are maintained.

River ports are:

Universal (perform all types of work);

Specialized (only certain types of work - cargo or passenger).

The most important elements of the port - berths - equipped with mechanization for loading and unloading ships, there are warehouses and storage areas for bulk cargo.

A pier is an intermediate point where vessels have a short stop for embarkation and disembarkation of passengers and partial loading and unloading of cargo.

The main indicators of the work of inland water transport.

Vessel productivity - transport work in ton-kilometers or passenger-kilometers per unit of time (usually a day), calculated per 1 hp. or 1 ton load capacity. Distinguish between net and gross productivity of the vessel. Net productivity characterizes the use of the vessel while moving in a laden condition. It is determined by dividing the total amount of ton-kilometers of this type of work by the force-day (tonnage-day) of the course in the loaded state. Gross productivity is an indicator that characterizes the use of the vessel during the entire operating time spent, i.e. the time of movement in laden and empty states, the time of all stops and non-transport work - is determined by dividing the total ton-kilometers by the force-day (tonnage-day) of the vessel in operation.

Vessel utilization rates by load reflect the degree to which the vessel's carrying capacity and power are utilized.

The indicator of the use of a cargo ship in terms of carrying capacity, t / t of tonnage, is determined by dividing the mass of cargo loaded into the ship, Q e, for the registration load capacity Q p:

The average load per 1 ton of carrying capacity of a cargo ship is determined by dividing ton-kilometers (where l xgr- the length of the course of the vessel with cargo) per tonnage-kilometers with cargo:

Average load per 1 hp the capacity of tugboats is determined by dividing ton-kilometers performed in laden voyages by force-kilometers with the composition of laden vessels and rafts:

Share of travel time with cargo a d is determined by dividing the tonnage-days of the vessel with cargo by the total number of tonnage-days in operation:

Average productivity of 1 ton carrying capacity of self-propelled and non-self-propelled vessels M egr is determined by dividing tonne-kilometres by the total number of tonnage-days in operation:

Vessel turnaround time - the time spent on the movement of the vessel from the point of loading to the point of unloading and back, including the time required for initial and final operations (loading, unloading, locking, etc.), delays in transit and technical operations. Determined by adding down the parking time t st; time spent on maneuvers t m; running time t x:

Consider the performance of river ports.

The total cargo turnover of the port is the total amount of cargo in tons sent from the port and received by the port. This indicator is planned and taken into account for all cargoes in general and with distribution by nomenclature: oil and oil products, timber in rafts, dry cargo ships (grain, ore, coal, ore, etc.). Particular attention is paid to the goods transported in containers, as well as to be transferred from river transport to rail transport and received from it.

Loading and unloading operations include all work performed by the means of ports at cargo berths and warehouses related to the reloading of goods transported by river transport. This includes port and off-port operations, as well as transshipment of bulk oil cargoes by oil refineries. Non-port activities include the economic work of the port, as well as work performed for other organizations in order to maintain a permanent staff of workers and make better use of fixed assets.

The volume of loading and unloading operations is planned and recorded in physical tons and ton operations. The volume of loading and unloading operations in physical tons corresponds to the cargo turnover of the port minus the total weight of various cargoes sent from the berths and received at these berths, as well as timber cargoes sent from the port and arrived at the port in rafts.

A ton operation is the movement of 1 ton of cargo according to a certain variant of loading and unloading operations. A variant is the completed movement of cargo, regardless of the distance, method and additional work performed (weighing, sorting, etc.). When determining the volume of transshipment work in ton-operations, any work associated with the movement of 1 ton of cargo in the port is taken into account, according to the following options: transport-warehouse; warehouse-transport; transport-transport; warehouse-warehouse; internal warehouse premises (performed in the course of the main work, but on separate orders).

The ratio of the number of ton operations performed by the port to the volume of loading and unloading operations in physical tons for a certain period is called the cargo transshipment coefficient.

Problems and prospects for the development of inland water transport.

It is necessary to improve the unified system of internal routes of Russia, which is possible during the construction of canals and locks. In the nineteenth century The Mariinsky system was built with 39 locks.

The system of internal routes is of defensive importance: the connection between the south of the country and the north (the path through the European water system from Odessa to St. Petersburg) is 8800 km, and along internal routes - 4500 km.

It is necessary to deepen the fairway for the passage of ships of greater carrying capacity in order to extend the time of navigation; development of a system of ro-ro ships ("Ro-Ro") of horizontal loading, ships of the "river - sea" type; sectional vessels (they are more economical than a heavy cargo of the same carrying capacity with a simplified reloading system and are re-formed depending on cargo flows); hovercraft and hydrofoils with a speed of up to 105 km/h; icebreakers and vessels with reinforced hulls for polar conditions; increase in the carrying capacity of ships (the cost is reduced by 25-30%); increasing the comfort of passenger ships; creation of automated complexes for reloading operations; reconstruction of existing ports (Temryuk, Yeysk, Rostov, Azov, Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, etc.); creation of dock ships for the transportation of heavy bulky cargo and for the delivery of cargo to places in the Arctic basin that do not have transshipment equipment, and much more.