Henk Blaauw h.blaauw@marin.nl R


oad congestion and the need to re- duce emissions such as CO2


that there is increasing public and


governmental pressure to get traffic off the roads and on to barges. Transport can be improved by strengthening the position of inland navigation in the market by making it more competitive and at the same time, by minimising its environmental impact.


Three main fields of work are currently un- der study. MARIN is conducting feasibility studies looking into integrating inland ships in door-to-door transport chains. This means looking at both the design of transport chains and at the conceptual design of ships. MARIN is also working on the reduction of the environmental impact of inland ships through better design, as well as examining nautical safety issues.


Transport chains One important ques- tion being addressed by MARIN is whether it is financially feasible to integrate inland ships into transport chains. The types of cargo and the possibilities, as well as the restrictions, of the available wet infrastruc- ture are important issues here. Vessels can be self-propelled ships, coupled, or pushing units. When it does seem feasible, the next step involves considering the conceptual designs of the ships.


During this phase, MARIN’s Inland Ship Exploitation Model is used to calculate alternative solutions. As well as costs, the environmental impact is becoming a more important issue. Although ships are not


the worst offenders when it comes to CO2 emissions, shipping does lag behind road transport when it comes to other gasses and particles. Having the most environmentally- friendly vessel possible is also important commercially because many shippers consid- er this before rewarding transport contracts.


A good example of projects to stimulate the use of smaller waterways is the introduction of a new concept called the Barge Truck. This project aims to determine whether the smaller vessels navigating smaller canals can be re- placed by a system of push boats and push barges. One advantage is that cargo is uncoupled from the pushing unit. Cargo can be handled when needed and barges can be


Barge truck, a system of push boats and push barges report 27


used as floating stock, while the most costly unit, the pushing boat, is fully-utilised because there is hardly any waiting time.


, means


Reducing fuel and emissions MARIN is also focusing on reducing fuel consump- tion and consequently, CO2


production by


improving the form of the fore ship and aft ship by CFD calculations and by making sure the most efficient propeller is selected. MARIN also tries to reduce CO2


Nautical manoeuvre at dock Lith, river Meuse, Netherlands


emissions by


reducing fuel consumption through the de- velopment of a voyage planner in combina- tion with a fuel economiser. Exhaust emis- sions, as well as costs are taken into account in MARIN’s model.


MARIN is the co-developer of the Economy Planner. This encompasses a voyage planner integrated with a fuel economiser and it focuses on reducing fuel by taking the restrictions of the waterway into account. Navigating ships can use each other’s expe- rience to select the optimal sailing route.


Safety first Nautical safety and efficiency are of course, vitally important operational aspects for inland ships. MARIN’s experts are looking very closely at manoeuvrability issues. Manoeuvring models, both in fast time and real time are used to assess the dimensions of the infrastructure and the


manoeuvring capabilities of new vessel designs in the nautical simulators. Addition- al training to inland barge skippers is also given to increase manoeuvring skills and to optimise fuel consumption.


MARIN is involved in the Automatic Identi- fication System (AIS) pilot in the port of Rotterdam. In this project 75 inland ships are equipped with certified AIS to obtain experience with the system. This system enhances safety but it also plays an impor- tant role in the future as it can be used to plan locks and terminals.


By being far more active in the field of inland navigation MARIN helps to increase mobility on the roads and consequently, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.


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