Yes, could be anywhere but USA.
In this case it is in the Netherlands. (Probably R’dam, since that is home to Rijnmond TV)
Thanks for the info as I said looks like empty’s
They tried it in San Francisco it was a costly joke as are most bureaucratic ideas in California are 2 hrs by truck from Stockton to Oakland. 3 days by barge
Time is money, but money and time aren’t everything that counts in this world!!
- Are empties in a hurry?
- What was the cost per empty box by barge and by road?
- How much LESS GHG emission per box by barge?
- Did the barge cause any traffic jams and angry commuters?
- ??
- ??
I’m afraid in the tug and barge business money and profit is the bottom line. It takes two tugs to get down the river. A push boat and a tail boat to act like a bow thruster
This is just the time it takes to get down the river doesn’t include loading and unloading
Don’t know about your location but stevedores in California are lazy. Some transport companies won’t work with them
It’s loose loose no matter how you cut it. And then there are the chassis to consider
It appear that the problem is more operational than strictly “money” per se.
In other parts of the world they have found ways to make short sea and inland transport by water profitable for all parties. They don’t keep it secret, so you can learn from it, if you wish.
Besides, the other considerations I mentioned also count. (Some think; a lot more than money)
its been tried but 60 miles at 5 knots or less on the rivers in northern California which are levied built are very narrow and shallow with currents averaging 6 knots just doesn’t work there. often it takes 15 to 20 hours
In Los Angeles they have a train corridor that goes out into the valley 100 miles. They put it right on the rail cars double stacked condoles the truck pick it up out there no congestion or pollution
San Francisco tore out all that infrastructure years ago so to even get to the rail yard in the city you need a truck
You are talking local. I’m talking global.
If the current is flowing at 6 kts. you need to be able to make better speed to have a viable water transport system.
Luckily, most navigable rivers and straits seldom reach 6 kts. current. When they do, slow moving ships/barges have to wait for the current to ease off.
But that is not the main reason why short sea shipping and container transport on rivers hasn’t succeed in the US, while it does elsewhere.
I can only speak from personal experience. current flow changes every 6 hours and in the tight confines of the Sacramento and San Joaquin river there is no room to maneuver or your aground. and why you need two boats.
so they’ll just keep on trucking like the song!
the present pipe dream is to put a baseball stadium in an unused on the water port facility in the 8th busiest port in the US (Oakland) to add to the already horrendous congestion. there is no infra structure to support the influx of baseball fans to a proposed 30 thousand seat stadium
guess that is the subject for a different forum.
Bruce Cibley
Marine Surveyor C.M.S. R.T.
Cell: 510 919 7554
California sprawl. Won’t ever work there. Hell the infrastructure is here on the East Coast and other than a few smaller operations, it just doesn’t work. You’d need major redevelopment in California to just pull it off. You can’t do anything there without going significantly going over budget and paying ridiculous bribes…
The picture shows a typical European inland ship (aka as inland barge) These are self-propelled vessels that traditionally were run and operated (sometime also owned) by a family that lived on board. That is not so common any more though, as most kids go to regular schools, not boarding schools.
Telescopic wheelhouses are becoming more common as the tradition of aft accommodation is kept, while the cargo gets higher. Here is an extremes example:
There are also push tugs with telescopic wheelhouse that push several barges, but not “in the notch”.
If they are intended to push Container barges they also come with telescopic wheelhouse:
You even have inland ships that pushes non-propelled barges:
Or tow a barge alongside;
Inland shipping is NOT a dying thing, but a trade in rapid development due to the zero emission requirement that is affecting all shipping and road transport in the world:
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You are most fortunate to have well maintained water ways and locks. Here that infrastructure is falling apart and inadequate
The US army corps of engineers is responsible for the water ways here and do a poor job of letting contracts for improvement and new construction and have poor oversight of the work that is done new Orleans is a prime example. They get flooded out during most hurricanes and the levy system collapses due to poor construction methods. That why they call it the big easy
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China has extensive short sea and inland shipping as well.
Their inland ships are different from the European type in that they have the wheelhouse fwrd.
This one is from the Pearl River:
Back before the turn of the century, the company I worked for had a container barge run between Morgan’s Point to the Miss river-Gulf Outlet. They had the job for about 3 years. Probably better than 95% of the time, they were ahead of schedule. The small percentage of being behind sched, caused by weather, disrupted the container flow as compared to straight rail shipping. It’s hard to compete with the railroad here.
Short Sea Container Feeder JSP SLEIPNER on her way in to Ålesund, as she does every week on her regular Bremerhaven -West Norway run:
In the Netherlands the backbone of the inland waterways are the family owned and operated ships. They usually have luxurious living quarters such as these ones.
Also the usual bicycle for local transport has in the mean time been replaced by a car, here even two cars, aft with a hydraulic deck crane.
I have sailed extensively in Korea and Japan and virtually everything seems to go by water, trucks are relegated to very short pulls in town.Most big rigs in Asia are considerably smaller and more economical than here.
Modernizing the waterways i.e. the California delta or the Columbia river in my neck of the woods is costly but looked at in another way sticking with the same stale routine of truck traffic is costing EVERYONE on the highways maybe 1 to 2 mpg for constant urban logjams not to mention constant slowdowns on our freeways, it is considered impossible to travel to Vancouver Washington on Friday after 2:00 pm because of among other things truck traffic. Nowadays 1-2 mpg is probably $20 per vehicle per fill up for fuel not even bringing the pollution impact into play.
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On a Norwegian FB group for mariners someone posted the below:
Anybody here who can help before it becomes a crisis along the banks of the Rhine??
Her ya go:
- Flammable
- Poisonous
- Explosives
Thanks!!
Message brought on to the enquirer who are grateful for the answer. Crisis now averted.
He can have another glas of Riesling to celebrate his new knowledge, while watching the great variety of inland ships sail pass by.
A brand new multi-purpose Short Sea ship made her fist call in Norway yesterday:
“Oddrun With” northbound in Karmsundet tonight with various boats as deck cargo.
Photo: Arild B (NSF)
She is able to handle many different types of cargo simultaneously, incl. refrigerated cargo, palletized breakbulk and containers, using own crew, gear and facilities for loading and discharging where no stevedoring service is available.
Powered by LNG and equipped with batteries for use at peak load and in port.
She has DP Class 2 for contactless discharging of fish feed directly to Feed rafts at fish farms.
Here is a review of the Oddrun With in Skipsrevyen:
Designed by Multi.Maritime:
They would probably be prepared to supply their design to anybody who may be interested in building a Jones Act compliant version:
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