What is the name of a ship carrying containers? Dry cargo ships. Specialized cargo ships

Another specific version of the vessel - Semi-submersible transport vessels

It all started with non-self-propelled barges, now the most unusually large can be loaded on board and sent under its own power to anywhere in the world. In 1998, the German company " Dockwise Shipping” has become an organization for the transportation of unusual orders. Her assistants were large ships carrying goods worth many millions of dollars. For super heavy loads Mighty Servant 1" And " Mighty Servant 3", for yachts " Mighty Servant 2" And " Mighty Servant 4", for other equally complex work" blue marlin», « Black marlin», « Transshelf" and others. This is the class semi-submersible ships built at the Kaohsiung shipyard in China.

Such sea ​​vessels fairly narrow specialization. Semi-submersible transport vessels are designed to move large, extremely heavy cargo, such as sections of offshore platforms and oil platforms, submarines, cranes, ships, berths, etc. Moreover, loading and unloading is provided independently, without additional cranes.

These are FLO/FLO (Float-on/Float-off) vessels. What does it mean? When on transport ship it is necessary to load some kind of oversized cargo, first, after 16 kingstons, the ballast tanks are filled with sea water and the ship sinks to a depth of 26 meters. This takes about 12 hours, and during this time up to 77,000 tons of water are poured into the tanks. After stabilization sea ​​vessel, loading starts. The loading process is a very responsible event that requires special knowledge, prudence, utmost care and coordination of the entire team from all employees, and this can also be very time consuming.

With the help of tugs, the cargo is pushed and held above deck level until semi-submersible will not rise to its normal position.

The team of welders then attaches the cargo to the metal deck. Loading is checked by divers. Then the water is slowly pumped out and the transport ship takes over the floating cargo. This is where the type of ship comes from, which translates as "elevator". Maritimevessel built from dense materials and has a very strong hull that allows you to make ocean crossings. For the crew on the ship, a sports and entertainment complex is provided - saunas, a swimming pool, a gym, etc. transport ships there are already many shipments and they are all different from each other.

Technical data of semi-submersible vessel type "Mighty Servant":
Length - 224.5 m;
Width - 63 m;
Draft - 13.3 m;
Flat deck area - 11227 sq. m (178 m X 63 m);
Deadweight - 76061 tons;
Speed ​​- 12 knots;
Cruising range - 25,000 miles;
Power plant - three diesel engines " Wartsila», with a total capacity of 17190 hp; Additionally equipped with two shunting engines with a total capacity of 6035 hp;
Crew - 55 people;

At maritime company « Dockwise Shipping”, which specializes in the delivery of various cargoes, has semi-submersible ships different type. There are sixteen in total. But over time, orders for transportation oversized cargo became significantly less because of the depression in the oil industry. The shipping company conducted a survey among its employees - what can be done to their ships brought income. Many proposals were received, but the company's managers listened to the wisest ones.

So one of the proposals was yacht transportation, mostly from mediterranean sea to various ports in the world. To date, four ship, which carry about 750 " expensive toys" in year. Price yacht delivery from the UK to the Caribbean is $7,500.

The thing is that yachts cannot cover long distances across the ocean for several reasons. Firstly, the wave height can reach 12 meters, secondly, the yacht does not have such a supply of fuel for a long voyage, thirdly, there is less engine wear, and fourthly, it is necessary to have enough time for an independent transition, but as a rule it is not. It turns out that using the services semi-submersible vessel « Super Servant» more economical, safer, faster, and sailing on it is like a ferry. Among them "Super Servant 4". Due to the increase in the number of orders, it had to be lengthened in order to increase the volume. On ship all conditions for excellent pastime of clients are created. By the way, the captain of such a ship is Sergei Mikheev, a native of Moscow.

Technical data of the transport vessel "Super Servant":

Length - 163.5 m;

Width - 49 m;

Speed ​​- 15 knots;

Crew - 65 people;

In November 2005, the Blue Marlin left the port of Corpus Christi, Texas for Adak, Alaska via the southern tip of South America and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The ship arrived at Pearl Harbor on January 9, 2006 after traveling 15,000 miles. In January 2007, the Blue Marlin was hired to transport two jackup rigs, Rowan Gorilla VI and GlobalSantaFe Galaxy II, from Halifax to the North Sea.

Five-story "stack" of river vessels and pontoons was loaded onto a ship in the Shanghai port of Nantong, after which the MV Blue Marlin set off and 58 days later, on March 22, arrived in the Netherlands, at the port of destination.

It is worth noting that the MV Blue Marlin has a twin vessel, the MV Black Marlin, and both of these vessels are owned by the Norwegian company Offshore Heavy Transport, which specializes in large-capacity shipping. Naturally, both heavy carriers, 217 meters long, 42 meters wide and capable of carrying heavy and bulky cargo weighing up to 56 thousand tons, were built by the same manufacturer, the Chinese shipbuilding company China Shipbuilding Corporation.

Of course, the “stack” of riverboats is the most unusual cargo that the MV Blue Marlin has ever carried. But this cargo is not the heaviest cargo, here we show pictures that show how the MV Blue Marlin ship carries an entire offshore drilling platform, a huge offshore radar station and the American military missile ship USS Cole (DDG-67), which was damaged as a result of a terrorist attack in one of the ports of Yemen.

The US Navy used the Blue Marlin to transport the destroyer USS Cole back to the United States after the ship was damaged in an al-Qaeda suicide attack in Aden, one of the ports. In the second half of 2003, the Blue Marlin underwent a facelift that increased her capacity and added two retractable propulsion units to improve maneuverability.

The ship recommissioned in January 2004.

After the upgrades, the Blue Marlin delivered the 60,000 ton Thunder Horse PDQ oil rig to Corpus Christi, Texas.

Specifications of the vessel "Blue Marlin":
initial specifications.
Length: 217 meters (712 feet);
Length between perpendiculars: 206.5 meters (677 ft);
Maximum Width: 42 meters (138 feet) ;
Board height: 13.3 meters (44 feet) ;
Draft at summer load line: 10 m (33 ft);
Lifting capacity: 56,000 metric tons;
Diving depth on deck: 10 meters (33 feet) ;
Free deck length: 178.2 and 157.2 meters (585 or 516 feet);
Free deck area: more than 7215 square meters (77660 square feet) ;
Main engine power: 12640 kW;
Thruster power: 2000 kW;
Cruise speed: 14.5 knots
Cruise Range: 25,000 nm
Accommodation: 55 people
Place of construction: CSBC, Kaohsiung

In July 2005, the Blue Marlin transported the Snohvit refinery from the construction site in Cadiz to Hammerfest in a journey of eleven days. This transportation was the basis of one of the plots of the television show "Extreme Engineering" on the television channel "Discovery Channel", as well as the TV show "Mega Movers", which aired on the channel "History Channel".

After 2004 (after improvements)
Depth: 13.3 meters (44 feet) ;
Maximum draft when leaving the port: 10 meters (33 feet) ;
Maximum diving draft: 29.3 meters (96 feet) ;
Deck area: 63 × 178.2 meters (207 × 584.6 ft);
Total deck area: 11,227 square meters (120,850 sq ft);
Propulsion output: 4500 kW each.

And here is what they are going to build :-)

well, a bunch of ships on deck ...

Every day between the countries of Europe and Asia, in very large volumes, cargo is transported. For their transportation different kinds and types of transport. Sea transportation of goods is less expensive than delivery by road, rail and air transport. By sea, a variety of cargoes are delivered - oil products, crops, gas, animals, equipment, construction and agricultural. technique. For the transportation of each of the above cargoes, there are different types of ships.

Maritime transport classification

According to cargo classification There are the following transport vessels:

• highly specialized(delivery of only a certain type of cargo);
• specialized(delivery of two or more types of cargo of the same category);
• ships of dual specialization(transportation of goods of different categories);
• multipurpose(transportation of goods of different categories, with the possibility of reloading in a horizontal and vertical way);
• universal(transportation of any cargo).

Purpose of ships

The main feature of the classification of sea vessels is their purpose.

All civil courts are divided into:

1. industrial
2. transport
   1. - passenger
   2. - cargo:
      1. bulk (tanker, gas carrier)
      2. dry cargo:
         1. general courts
         2. specialized (timber carrier, container carrier, ro-ro carrier, bulk carrier, refrigerated)
   3. - special:
      1. ferries
      2. tugboats
   4. - cargo-passenger
3. vessels of the technical fleet

In addition to the above classifications, there are many others, which are based on the navigation area of ​​ships, engine class and load capacity.

General dry cargo ships

General dry cargo ships are the most common type and are designed for the delivery of general cargo, as well as oversized and large-tonnage. They are equipped with cranes and booms for loading and unloading operations. Goods can be packed in a variety of ways - in boxes, in bales, in barrels, etc. Bulk carriers (dry cargo ships) have two decks and large cargo holds, which occupy the main part of the hull. Cranes with a lifting capacity of up to 200 tons are used as loading equipment. As a rule, on modern ships of this type there is one refrigerated hold designed for the carriage of goods with a certain temperature regime.

Specialized cargo ships

Specialized dry cargo ships transport homogeneous cargo and are named according to the type of cargo carried - timber, container, refrigerated, livestock, ro-ro, bulk carriers.

Marine refrigerated ships used to transport products (vegetables, meat, fruits). Their carrying capacity reaches 8-12 thousand tons. The cargo holds of such vessels are equipped with refrigeration units and have good thermal insulation. Depending on the client's requirements, the temperature in the holds can be maintained from +6 to -20 o C.

Some marine refrigerated vessels have very powerful refrigeration units that are able not only to maintain the required temperature, but also to quickly freeze the goods (production and transport refrigerated marine vessels). Some ships that are designed to carry vegetables and fruits have enhanced ventilation in cargo holds.

Container ships (container ship) designed to transport cargo packed in a standard ISO container. The length of a container ship ranges from 80 to 400 m, carrying capacity - 8 - 20 thousand tons, capacity - 250 - 18 thousand containers. Such ships can be so automated that the crew can be as small as 10-14 people.

The hold of a sea container ship is equipped with vertical guides, which facilitate the loading of sea containers (the containers are stacked one on top of the other) and exclude their displacement when the ship rolls. After loading the containers into the holds, they are loaded onto the deck, where they are fastened with special devices: rods, chains, lanyards.

Loading and unloading operations are ten times faster than in general-purpose dry-cargo ships, since standard sea containers with cargo are loaded into the holds, and not piece cargo - of various sizes and tonnage. Unloading of such a vessel takes place using port lifting equipment - gantry cranes with a lifting capacity of up to 25 tons.

A variety of container ships are lighter carriers - ships for transporting floating barges. Such barges, with a carrying capacity of 370-2000 tons, are unloaded from a lighter carrier onto the water, after which they are towed to the required berth. Lighter carriers are used in places where large ships do not pass for any reason.

Ro-ro (trailer, ro-ro) type of cargo transport vessels, with the possibility of horizontal loading of equipment, on a wheelbase, through a folding stern - trucks and cars, railway cars, etc. Equipment is loaded onto the vessel by self-driving or using terminal tractors with a carrying capacity of up to 30 tons. The carrying capacity of such vessels is 1 - 10 thousand tons. The main advantage of ro-ro is considered to be high download/upload speed. Ro-ro hull is loaded with rolling equipment, and the deck is used for transportation of sea 20- and 40-foot containers. Ro-Ro is essentially a ferry, only cargo.

bulk carrier- this is a type of vessel for the transportation of bulk and bulk cargo without containers, used to transport coal, building materials, grain, sand, crushed stone, ore. Bulk carriers are single-deck vessels, they differ from others in their large carrying capacity (about 150 thousand tons) and low speed. The holds of bulk carriers have inclined walls (lower and upper parts) for self-distribution of bulk cargo. Most of these vessels do not have loading devices, they are loaded using port loading equipment. Some bulk carriers are equipped with belt conveyors that unload cargo from the hold, the so-called self-unloading vessels.

Timber trucks- serve for the delivery of timber (round timber) and lumber, as a rule - single-deck. Marine timber carriers are reinforced with ice reinforcements, which allow you to enter the ports of the Polar Basin.

Tanker is the most common type of transport vessel, used to transport oil products and other bulk cargoes. A tanker is a single-deck vessel with a carrying capacity of up to 400,000 tons. The upper deck of such a vessel is equipped with many pipes through which the loading and unloading of cargo takes place. The cargo part of such vessels is divided by transverse and longitudinal bulkheads into cargo tanks (compartments), which are filled with bulk cargo. The tanker has a pumping room, through which liquid cargo is unloaded. Such vessels are equipped with a double bottom and double sides - to prevent cargo from falling into environment. Some vessels of this type can simultaneously carry up to 5 types of liquid cargo. The unloading of tankers takes place near the far protruding berths, from which oil pipelines run to the shore.

gas carriers carry out the transportation of various gases (propane, methane, ammonia), which are transported in a liquefied state. Marine gas carriers have insert tanks of cylindrical, rectangular and spherical shape. For example, gas carriers for the delivery of methane, which is transported at temperatures up to -160 o C, have rectangular tanks. Sea gas carriers are equipped with pumps, piping system, compressors - to perform unloading operations.

Sea ferries there are passenger, automobile-railway, railway, automobile-passenger, which connect ground highways. They are intended for transportation of railway wagons, road trains, passengers. Their carrying capacity ranges from 300 to 60 thousand tons. For the arrival of equipment on the sea ferry, stern and bow ramps, as well as onboard lap ports are used. The ferry can have several decks, wheeled vehicles move along them using elevators or ramps. The ferries have passenger premises, bars, restaurants, entertainment centers for passengers. On average, a car-passenger ferry is capable of transporting 150-200 cars and 900-1000 passengers, and a railway ferry is capable of carrying up to 50 railway wagons. To unload cars from the ferry, a through system is used - the arrival and departure of wheeled vehicles through different gates.

Sea freight are very popular with many companies, especially in long distances. At the same time, the cost of transportation is at a quite acceptable level. In order to use sea transport and deliver the goods to their destination, you need to follow the procedure called chartering.

Chartering of vessels is a procedure for renting the entire vessel or part of it for the delivery of goods. Vessels can be chartered for one voyage or for a cycle. The owner of the vessel receives a fee for chartering, which is also called freight. However, in order to charter a vessel, it is not at all necessary to do it personally, it is enough to contact intermediaries - maritime brokers.

Our company provides assistance in chartering. We employ professionals in their field who have extensive experience in maritime brokerage.

When ordering the services of a maritime broker in our company, you can be sure of the competent conclusion of the contract on the optimal terms for you.

All vessels are subdivided into transport, fishing, service and support vessels and technical fleet vessels. Cargo ships are divided into two classes - dry cargo and tankers.

Are intended for transportation of general cargoes. General cargo is cargo in a package (in boxes, barrels, bags, etc.) or in separate places (machines, metal castings and rolled products, industrial equipment, etc.) (Fig. 1.1).

Universal vessels are not adapted for the carriage of any particular type of cargo, which does not allow the maximum use of the capabilities of the vessel. For this reason, specialized cargo ships are being built and widely used in world shipping, on which the carrying capacity is better used and the time spent in ports under cargo operations is significantly reduced. They are divided into the following main types: bulk carriers, container carriers, ro-ro carriers, lighter carriers, refrigerator carriers, passenger ships and tankers, etc. All specialized vessels have their own individual operational features, which require special additional training from the crew to acquire certain skills for the safe transportation of cargo, as well as to ensure the safety of the crew and the vessel during the voyage.

Refrigerated vessels (Reefers)- these are vessels (Fig. 1.2) with an increased speed, designed to transport perishable goods, mainly food, requiring the maintenance of a certain temperature regime in cargo spaces - holds. The cargo holds are thermally insulated, have special equipment and small hatches, and a refrigeration plant in the ship's refrigeration engine room is used to ensure the temperature regime.

Bulkers- these are ships (Fig. 1.3), which are adapted to a certain extent for the carriage in bulk of any bulk dry cargo. Bulk carriers usually do not have a cargo device, and all cargo operations are carried out by port facilities, and cargo holds hatches do large sizes for complete mechanization.

Container Ships- these are high-speed vessels (Fig. 1.4) designed to carry various cargoes previously packed in special large-capacity containers of standard types. Cargo holds are divided by special guides into cells into which containers are loaded, and some of the containers are placed on upper deck. Container ships usually do not have a cargo device, and cargo operations are carried out at specially equipped berths - container terminals. Some types of vessels are equipped with a special self-unloading device

Ro-Ro Ro-Ro ships- these are vessels (Fig. 1.5) with a horizontal loading method, used to transport laden trailers (caravans), wheeled vehicles, containers and packages. Vessels have one large hold and several decks. Cargo operations are carried out at the berth with the help of forklifts and platforms with tractors through the stern or bow ports (gates) of the vessel along special walkways - ramps, and the cargo is moved from deck to deck along internal ramps (a device for entering / exiting equipment) or using special elevators. lifts.

Lighter Ships- these are ships (Fig. 1.6), where non-self-propelled barges - lighters are used as cargo units, which are loaded onto the ship in the port from the water, and unloaded, respectively, onto the water.

Timber carrying vessel- a vessel for the transport of timber cargo (Fig. 1.9), including roundwood and sawn timber in bulk, in packages and block packages. When transporting timber for the full loading of the vessel, a significant part of the cargo is taken to the upper deck (caravan). The deck on timber carriers is fenced with a high-strength bulwark and equipped with special devices for attaching the caravan: wooden or metal walls installed along the sides of the vessel, and transverse lashings.

Tankers are tankers designed for bulk transportation in special cargo spaces - tanks (containers) of liquid cargo. All cargo operations on tankers are carried out by a special cargo system, which consists of pumps and pipelines laid along the upper deck and in cargo tanks.

Depending on the type of cargo carried, tankers are divided into:

Any domestic relies primarily on their purpose. Cargo ships are classified in the same way. Civilians are subdivided into fishing, transport, belonging to the technical fleet and service and support.

Transport

These cargo ships are the main core of the river and sea fleet. They are designed to carry a variety of goods. This group has its own inland vessels, cargo-passenger and special ones. Actually, cargo ships are liquid and dry cargo, and they include ships of various purposes and types.

Each of these types will be considered in detail, including general-purpose and specialized dry-cargo ships, which transport strictly defined cargoes. Cargo ships intended for general transportation are general purpose. They belong to the most common type.

Bulk carriers

Dry cargo ships are ships with spacious holds occupying their entire main part. They are one-, two- and three-deck, depending on the size of the vessel. In the engine room, most often there is a diesel installation, it is located either in the stern or shifted closer to the bow by a couple of cargo holds. For each hold, the projects of cargo ships provide for their own hatch, or even more than one, which closes mechanically.

Cargo means are cranes or individual booms with a lifting capacity of up to ten tons, and heavy ships are also supplied with stronger ones - up to two hundred tons. Modern offshore cargo ships have refrigerated holds for perishable cargoes and deep tanks for edible liquid oils. But river dry cargo ships, regardless of size and capacity, are equipped with only one cargo hold, so it is more convenient to carry out loading and unloading operations.

Specialized ships

Such dry cargo ships can be divided into groups into refrigerated, trailer, container ships, timber carriers, vehicles for the transport of cars, bulk cargo, livestock, and the like. Refrigerators transport - fruit, fish or meat. In cargo holds - reliable thermal insulation, refrigeration units that provide constant cooling with a temperature of five degrees to minus twenty-five. Modern refrigerators can not only maintain the temperature, but also produce rapid freezing, they are classified as production and transport refrigerators. Bulk carriers intended for the transportation of fruits are equipped with enhanced ventilation in all holds.

The technical characteristics of cargo ships provide for a carrying capacity of up to twelve thousand tons, the speed of such dry cargo ships is higher than that of general purpose ships, since the products are perishable and require the fastest possible delivery. Container ships transport pre-packaged cargo in containers weighing between ten and twenty tons each, and the ship itself lifts twenty thousand tons and travels at speeds up to thirty knots. Containers are quickly and easily loaded and unloaded due to the fact that the deck of container ships is adapted to a wider opening above the holds. Most often, loading and unloading is carried out by means of the terminal - portal cranes. Timber carriers - a type of container ship, these are barges called lighter carriers, they are unloaded from the ship directly onto the water and towed to the pier.

Trailers

Vessels of this type today have all maritime powers, since this ship is powerful, fast and allows you to quickly load and unload - about ten times faster than on ships that are not equipped with special trailers, on which cargo is simply brought in and taken out of the ship. Industrial development has greatly expanded and strengthened trade between countries, it is now necessary to transport long distances construction equipment, agricultural, transport. Sea and river cargo ships perform such tasks in the best possible way.

Trailers transport goods in trailers that simply roll into the holds. The carrying capacity of trailers is from one thousand to ten thousand tons, and the speed is up to twenty-six knots. This is the most promising and currently running type of cargo ship. They are constantly being improved. Many trailers, in addition to cargo in the holds, are adapted to transport containers on the upper deck. Such vessels even got their name - piggyback.

bulk carriers

Bulk cargoes are transported by specialized ships - bulk carriers. It can be ore and ore concentrates, coal, mineral fertilizers, building materials, grain, and the like. More than seventy percent of all dry cargo transported by sea or river routes is bulk cargo, and therefore the number of vehicles is growing very quickly: today more than twenty percent of the tonnage of the world fleet belongs to this type.

Bulk carriers are divided into universal, for heavy cargo and for light. Many ships are adapted for dual use: there - ore, back - oil or cars, or cotton, whatever. This type is single-deck vessels with superstructure and engine room in the stern. Their carrying capacity is simply huge - up to one hundred and fifty thousand tons, but the speed is low - up to sixteen knots. Cargoes are transported in holds with inclined walls for self-distribution of cargo - both longitudinally and transversely. Between the side and the walls are tanks for water ballast. Sometimes longitudinal bulkheads are made in the holds to reduce roll if the cargo shifts, and the second bottom is designed with reinforcements and thickened flooring for the convenience of cargo operations.

Tankers

This type of vessel is divided into tankers for petroleum products, crude oil, fuel oil, diesel fuel, gasoline, kerosene; for gas carriers; vessels for the transport of chemicals - molten sulfur, acids and the like; on transports for liquid cargoes - water, wine, cement. Tankers are the most common in the world: more than forty percent of the world's tonnage in the transport fleet. This is a single-deck vessel, superstructure and engine room are located at the stern.

The cargo part is divided by bulkheads into compartments called tanks. Some of them serve as water ballast for the return flight. On the bow is the pump room. tankers are extremely flammable, therefore they are equipped with powerful fire-fighting systems. Their carrying capacity is from a thousand tons for distributors to four hundred thousand tons for supertankers - the world's largest ships. River tankers are also not offended by their carrying capacity, some have it up to twelve thousand tons. These are also extremely powerful cargo ships. The photo above is an offshore tanker, and below is a river tanker.

gas carriers

These ships carry liquefied gases - methane, propane, butane, ammonia, as well as natural gases, which are valuable raw materials and excellent fuel. Usually the gas is either liquefied, or refrigerated, or under pressure. Gas carriers according to the projects are fundamentally different from tankers, since they have nested cylindrical tanks - horizontal or vertical, spherical or rectangular. Insulation on gas carriers must be very reliable.

Cargo operations are carried out using a special system, which includes pumps, compressors, pipelines and an intermediate tank. Ballast is not supposed to be taken into working tanks, and therefore it is equipped on the sides or in a double bottom. Gas transportation is always explosive, so there is a powerful ventilation system and a gas leak alarm. Fires are extinguished with carbon dioxide. At present, the class of combined vessels is in demand, which is very beneficial for sea and river transportation - empty runs are excluded. This is how cotton-timber carriers, oil ore carriers and similar vessels appeared.

RS-300

From 1967 to 1984, three shipyards of the USSR produced seiners of project 388M of the "Cargo ship RS-300" type. Four hundred and eighty-six such seiners were built, among which were those that served as commercial, fishing, mining vessels. In addition, thirty-three more research vessels appeared on the basis of this particular project (for example, the famous "Cautious"). For the purposes of scientific research, about one and a half dozen such vessels worked for a long time.

When Soviet Union ceased to exist, the need for them disappeared, some ships became private property, and most of served their time and got laid up. The rest were retrained in fishing. On Far East such ships in small numbers, until recently, still worked in border service. In private hands, fishing RS-300s are still afloat.

Other classification

In addition to classification by purpose, cargo ships can be divided according to other criteria. These are the principle of maintaining on the water, the navigation area, the type of engine, the principle of movement, the type of propulsion device, the material and shape of the hull. The principle of maintenance can be hydrodynamic - hydrofoils, air cushion, glider, as well as hydrostatic - air cavity, displacement (catamarans).

The principle of movement divides the vessels into self-propelled - with a power plant, non-self-propelled - with pushers and tugboats, as well as rack-mounted - pontoons, landing stages. According to the navigation area, it is possible to distinguish sea vessels, mixed (river-sea) and for inland navigation (river). The latter are intended for short trips on inland waterways. The type of the main engine divides cargo ships into motor ships (internal combustion engine) and Nuclear-powered ships and turbo ships are also used in the navy. Vessels are subdivided according to the type of propulsion into wheeled, screw, water-jet, with propellers and wings. The type of body material can be metal, fiberglass, reinforced concrete, wood. Also, ships can be self-propelled and not (barges).

Cargo aircraft

A cargo plane is used to transport not passengers, but a variety of cargo and equipment. They are immediately and easily recognized even by a non-professional eye. The wings are located high, the thickness of the hull, the fuselage, clearly conspicuous, a certain "squat" (so that the cargo is closer to the ground for ease of loading and unloading). More wheels on the chassis, high tail.

Air transportation of goods began back in 1911 - from the post office. Of course, there were no special projects yet, they appeared only in the twenties. The very first purely cargo plane was made in Germany - Air 232. Before that, slightly adapted Junkers carried cargo. Airliners built on special projects for cargo transportation are called charterers. They are not adapted for passengers.

The largest air cargo carriers

A real flying monster - An-225 ("Mriya") was developed at the Antonov Design Bureau in 1984, the first flight took place in 1988. A six-engine turbojet high-wing aircraft, a twin-keel plumage and a swept wing were supposed to create such a carrying capacity to transport parts of launch vehicles to the spaceport. "Buran" assumed the use of this particular aircraft, which is capable of lifting more than two hundred and fifty tons.

The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is an American cargo airliner born in 1968, it is a military transport aircraft capable of simultaneously transporting six armored personnel carriers, two tanks, four infantry fighting vehicles, six Apache helicopters. The Hughes H-4 Hercules is a very powerful rarity built in 1947 with a wingspan of ninety-eight meters. Now it is a museum aircraft, since it was made in a single copy. Boeing 747-8I is a cargo-passenger aircraft put into serial production in 2008. He lifts four hundred and forty-two tons on takeoff, but in addition to cargo, he takes on board almost six hundred passengers.

A huge amount of cargo is delivered from Europe to Asia. It is more economical to transport them by sea than by railway or on heavy vehicles. But if these types of transport still compete with ships in transportation across Eurasia, then it is a completely different matter when something needs to be delivered to other continents. Of course, there is also aviation, but the costs in most cases are excessively high, and the amount of transported cargo, on the contrary, is very small.

Many types of goods are transported across the ocean - petroleum products and farm animals, chemical products and cars, electronics and building materials, drilling equipment and industrial units. This means that a variety of ships are required.

What ships are

Ships are of narrow specialization (on which, from launching to deletion from all lists, they carry only one type of goods); just specialized (carry several goods of the same category). In addition, ships are also allocated for the transportation of several categories of goods (the so-called dual specialization); multi-purpose (a wide range of goods is sent to them). The best positions are occupied by universal vessels, on which everything can be delivered in general that industry and agriculture are capable of developing.

However, such a classification of ships is of interest mainly to the sailors themselves and the organizers of transportation. After all, they need to know which ship to send on a voyage when they order the delivery of a certain type of goods. For customers, the purpose of the ship is more important than the dry description of “specialized” or “universal”. Note that there are other gradations (say, by the permissible navigation area, by engine power, by the amount of payload, by speed, and so on).

Bulk carriers

General purpose dry cargo ship is the most common. It carries the so-called general cargo (and at the same time oversized, and very heavy, too). Even a non-professional can recognize a dry cargo ship while in the port or watching a movie/TV show. Such a vessel is always equipped with cranes for loading and unloading (they lift up to two hundred thousand kilograms). Goods on a dry cargo ship can be sent in a variety of containers - boxes, containers, barrels, bales, etc. The ship has two decks and large cargo holds, which occupy the main part of the volume. Usually one of the holds is refrigerated, it will carry goods that need a given temperature regime.

Specialized bulk carriers move homogeneous goods and are named accordingly. For example, a timber carrier, a container carrier, a cattle carrier - these names are clear to everyone without much explanation. There are, however, more "complex" ones. Do you know, for example, what a bulk carrier is? Or a ro-ro? Now we will explain everything that is not clear.

Refrigerators transport mainly products, ten thousand tons on average. If cars or wagons were intelligent, they would turn green with envy. Depending on the type of cargo, a stable temperature from plus six to minus twenty degrees can be maintained inside. Individual refrigerated ships are equipped with high-capacity refrigeration units that can not only stabilize the temperature, but also freeze large batches of food very quickly. Such vessels are in demand, for example, in the fishing fleet, where the task of keeping the harvested seafood as fresh as possible is very relevant. Refrigerators designed for transportation of fruits and vegetables are equipped with powerful hold ventilation.

container ships

Or container ships. It is not difficult to guess that they carry various goods packed in containers of a standard size. Hundreds or thousands of containers can hold from eight to twenty thousand tons of goods. At the same time, automation and standardization have reached such heights that a crew of ten people or a little more even large container ship quite sufficient.
Vertical guides in the hold perform a dual task: to facilitate loading and prevent cargo from shifting due to rolling, storms, and so on. It is possible to load and unload a container ship many times faster than an ordinary bulk carrier. To extract the delivered goods from the holds, port gantry cranes are used, which lift up to twenty-five thousand kilograms.

A lighter carrier is one of the subspecies of a container ship. It transports barges (inside which from three hundred to two thousand tons of payload is placed). Upon arrival at the port of destination, the barges are launched and towed to the berths. This approach makes it possible to bring large cargoes even where ships with a large displacement cannot pass.

Ro-Ro and bulk carriers

A ro-ro ship, also known as a trailer ship, is a ship on which equipment can be loaded horizontally thanks to the tilting of the stern. Cars (both cars and trucks), railway cars and some other types of equipment drive inside themselves (or are transported by terminal tractors). The carrying capacity of a ro-ro can range from one to ten thousand tons. The use of vessels of this class is characterized by high-speed loading and unloading. Containers are placed on the deck of a cargo ferry (so that the place is not wasted).

A bulk carrier is a ship on which cargo is piled and poured without containers. For example, coal and wood, sand and metal ore, cereals, crushed stone, cement. Bulk carriers have only one deck. Since the goods listed above are not urgent, the speed of ships can be small, but a gain in the transported mass is achieved (more than one hundred thousand tons).

Other features of bulk carriers are also due to their function. For example, the walls can be tilted so that the bulk cargoes themselves fit in the most compact way. Placement of goods inside is carried out using port loading devices. Only a few bulk carriers are equipped with belt conveyors.

Timber trucks deliver roundwood and lumber from one port to another. Like bulk carriers, they are mostly single-deck. If the timber carrier is not river, but sea, it is always reinforced with ice protection in order to visit ports in the Arctic Ocean.

We carry liquid cargo, or about tankers ...

The ships just described seem to be good for everyone - and they are roomy, and they can carry a lot of things. But what if you need to send oil products or other liquids? Then you need a tanker.
Tankers always have one deck. This is one of the most big ships not only in the cargo fleet, but also in the world ocean as a whole. They can compete with them in size and displacement only aircraft carriers, the largest cruise ships and offshore drilling platforms. In fact, hundreds of thousands of tons are no joke.

The upper deck of any tanker is riddled with holes, like good cheese, with a mass of pipes for loading and unloading cargo. In the pump room there is equipment that pumps the transported liquids out. The double bottom and double sides make it possible to avoid many cases of oil products entering the open sea, which can be very destructive for nature. Part of the tankers can carry five types of liquids at the same time, this is ensured by the division of cargo into separate tanks (tanks). Of course, the injection and discharge system is also optimized so that different cargoes do not mix with each other.

In addition to oil and oil products, the tanker can transport wine and oils, chemical synthesis products, alkalis and acids. The possibilities of increasing the capacity of tankers have been exhausted; even today it is difficult for them to enter even large ports.

Not only a liquid, but also a gas...

There is a regular need to send liquefied combustible gases by sea. Gas carrier ships are equipped with tanks of various shapes inserted into the hulls, depending on the target gas. Compressors, pumps and pipelines on board make it possible to unload the gas carrier even in a poorly equipped port.

And about ferries

When it is necessary to connect certain points with each other, ferries are used. There are passenger, railway, automobile, automobile-passenger, automobile-railway ferries. Some of these ships have a displacement of up to sixty thousand tons. Entry of transport is carried out through the ramps on the bow and stern, through the onboard laparports. The average ferry takes on board up to a thousand passengers, or up to two hundred cars, or up to fifty wagons.

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