The vessel is constructed with two hydraulically-operated external stern ramps. One is a straight stern ramp, another one is a quarter stern ramp. Easch of them has a safe working load of 70 tons and a 6-metre long diveway. All vehicles ranging from passenger cars to heavy movable machinery can be loaded and discharged through these two ramps.

For PCTC carriers, a stern quarter ramp offers considerable advantages for cargo access and handling. Its main benefit is that it allowa the vessel to berth in the normal manner, that is alongside the quay, without the need for special shore facilities. The motor vehicles carried by the "Elbe Highway", and later on by her three sisters, can be handled at any port in the world, not only at Ro-Ro terminals with trailer quays.

The carrier is built with eight cargo decks in total. Two of them are liftable car decks. They enhancegreatly the operational flexibility of the vessel. Unlike hoistable car decks, they have no integral lifting mechanism, but are deployed by a mobile deck lift. Thus, the maintenance requirements of each of the panels forming the movable deck are limited. The arrangement of internal ramps are fixed car decks follows the main design concept to shorten the time in port. Namely, deck supporting pillars have been designed off the ship centre line, making the construction not symmetrical, but allowing for better cargo access.

The "Elbe Highway" has been classified by DNV as ICE-1A as the hull is strengthened in her underwater and bow sections. The navigating bridge is fully glass-shielded to improve the navigation visibility on icy waters.

The prototype carrier has already joined the growing fleet of high-quality car carriers of high manoeuvrability and efficiency that are operating on short routes in the Baltic and North Sea regions.

This post about Car Carriers is on with a lot of infos and details. The "Elbe Highway" is the first of the series of four innovative PCTC (Pure Car and Truck Carrier) Ro-Ro car carriers built in Gdynia Shipyard S.A. , Poland, for long-term charter for Kawasaki Europe. The shipyard design office team initiated and accomplished all the concept work on these new vessels. Along the way they were able to put into practice the yard's considerable experience in the field.

The delivery ceremony was held on 20th August 2005, exactly nine months after the commencement of steel cutting. The second ship, the "Thames Highway", exactly replicating the design of the prototype, was completed by the end of 2005.

The largest car carriers of today can handle over 6000 units. The "Elbe Highway" with her overall length of 143 m and breadth of 25 m, can carry up to 2100 units, so the total car deck capacity is comparatively small. In fact, she can be classified as the only vessel ever desingned and built expressly for carrying vehicles. The intention was to follow the innovative approach to world car transport. The crucial idea is to lower the cost of the port stay by means of emplyoing smaller cargo ships, operating as feeders.

Tankers are vessels designed for carrying any liquid cargo such as petroleum and products derived from it, liquefied gases, chemicals, wine and water. There are gas tankers designed for carrying liquefied gas, either LPG or LNG, both of which need to be kept at higher higher pressure and at low temperatures to mantaing the cargo in a liquefied state, and there are crude oil tankers. The latter usually carry crude oil from a loading port near oil fields or from the end of a pipeline to a refinery. Gas tankers are often steam turbine ships. The boil-off, which is the gas evaporated from the cargo in order to keep the temperature low, can be used as fuel for the boilers.
Tankers come in all sizes, ranging from bunkering tankers of 1000DWT used for refueling larger vessels to the real giants:

• The VLCC - Very Large Crude Carrier, 200.000 - 300.000 DWT

• The ULCC - Ultra Large Crude Carrier, over 300.000 DWT

Crude oil tankers are the largest of all cargo ships. Their capacity has risen right up to 500.000 tons and, consequently, their large draught limits their sailing routes. There are only a few ports that supertankers can enter ans thus they are mostly loaded and unloaded from off-shore pumping stations. The liquefied cargo is loaded by means of pipes from shore facilities and through flexible pipelines mounted on the jetty.

A further step in the development of the oil industry is the Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO), designed for off-shore purposes. When a large vessel like a crude oil tanker is damaged by collision or grounding, vast amounts of oil my leak out straight into the sea. This explains the strict requirement for them to have a double hull.

These ships carry cargo in containers. Goods are locked and sealed in huge boxes of the standard size. Containerships carry containers both in holds and on the main deck. In the holds, there is a special cellular structure of guide rails where containers are stowed one on the top of another. That is why they can be also called cellular vessels. These ships usually have one deck, with the machinery spaces located towards the aft end. Additional containers are stowed on open deck and anchored in place by wire ropes. Containerships have made a revolution in water sport. The higher speed of around 26 knots is their main advantage over other cargo ships. In addition, the loading and unloading work with the use of shore based moving gantry cranes is extremely fast. The primary advantage of the use of containers is the possibillity of transporting cargo directly from customer to customer, not only from port to port. Container vessels have grown in capacity up to 8000 TEU. Large containers vessels usually do not have thei own loading gear. However, small or medium-sized ones, called container feeders, are often equipped with cargo gear. Also, some multiporpose ships can operate as container feeders.

In the next period I will write about vessel types. So I begin today with the bulk carries.
Bulk carriers, or just bulkers, are ships especially designed to carry loose goods in bulk. The cargo transported in bulk commonly includes wood, coal, ore, grain, coke, fertilisers, cement, light materials, sugar and sand. Bulkers usually have one deck, with engine room in the stern and a deckhouse above it.

Holds are constructed with longitudinal and cross walls, called bulkheads. Cargo in bulk is easily stowed in between them. Bulk cargo ships are not equipped with any handling gear, except for handy size ones, up to 30,000 tond of deadweight. All loading and unloading is done by means of shore devices like grabs or suction pippes. Some of them make use of flexible ductings and fans, which simply blow light cargo into holds. Port devices may include special conveyors that drop cargo inside. When on hold is full, loading si continued into the next one.

Bulk carriers have large upper and lower ballast tanks to provide enough draught. Some bulk carriers are designed to funtion also as tankers. Such vessels are called Ore Bulk Oil carriers.

Ports, which have traditionally been run like government departments, are becoming a normal industry thanks to the infusion of private money that promises greater competition, higher productivity and eventually lower costs that will be passed on the importers and exporters. In this new and volatile environment, the pubil sector is forced to reassess its role in the port industry.

The retreat of government flourishes in the belief that an enterorise-based economy would allow for greater flexibility and efficiency in the market and a more effective response to consumers demands. Many so-called port privatisation schemes are in fact some form of commercialisation or coprporatisation of a port authority.

In this post will be presented IMO Fire Control Symbols:

For now I will post IMO symbols and it's a great idea to print this page and also to learn them. Click on the picture to enlarge :

1. You have two options. Click on any of the links below to load the first part of the program. Alternatively, you can download the full program (409MB).
2. Select “Save” and select a location on your computer.
3. You will be notified once the download is complete. After the download has completed, doubleclick on the downloaded file to install that part of the program. (After this, the downloaded file can be deleted.)
4. The program will start automatically once the installation is complete. A "MarEng" shortcut icon will also be created on your desktop.
5. The remaining parts will be downloaded as needed (provided you have an open Internet connection). The program will install the remaining parts automatically in the correct location on your computer.
6. If you exit the program and want to use it again later, you can open it by clicking on the MarEng icon on your desktop.

You can download MarEng from here: MarEng

MarEng is the best learning tool, still free available for maritime industry. MarEng is a transnational project that aims to promote the maritime English language competences of those working in the various maritime professions in Europe. From their site you cand dowmload the program by chapters or full even if it's bigger. There are some chapters for you like a little presentation:

1. In Port
   • Port Operations, Cargo Handling
   • Shipping and Maritime Management
2. The Ship and Its Crew
   • Types of Ships
   • Navigation Bridge, Bridge Instruments
   • Engine Room
   • Cargo Space
3. Leaving Port
   • Port State Control
4. In the Fairway
   • Navigation, Seamarks, Lights
   • Lighthouses
   • VTS
5. On the Watch - A Working Day on Board
6. A Storm - Mayday, Mayday
   • Radio Communication
   • Weather Reports, Navtex
7. An Accident on Board
   • Radio Medical
   • Search and Rescue
   • Helicopter Rescue
8. Trespassing - An Encounter with the Coast Guard
   • Security Issues
9. Approaching the Port of Destination
   • Ice Navigation
   • VTS
   • Pilotage

Here are some pictures with the program:

As my first class at university I will present you in this post the parts of the vessel:

* Bow - the front and generally sharp end of the hull. It is designed to reduce the resistance of the hull cutting through water and should be tall enough to prevent water from easily washing over the top of the hull.
* Bulkhead - the internal walls of the hull
* Chines - are long, longitudinal strips on hydroplaning hulls that deflect downwards the spray that is produced by the hull when it travels at speed in the water. The term also refers to distinct changes in angle of the hull sections, where the bottom blends into the sides of a flat bottomed skiff, for instance. A hull may have 2 or more chines to allow an approximation of a round bottomed shape with flat panels. It also refers to the longitudinal members inside the hull which support the edges of these panels.
* Deck - the top surface of the hull keeps water and weather out of the hull and allows the crew to stand safely and operate the boat more easily. It stiffens an enclosed hull.
* Gunwale - The upper longitudinal structural member of the hull.
* Keel - the main central member along the length of the bottom of the boat. It is an important part of the boat's structure which also has a strong influence on its turning performance and, in sailing boats, resists the sideways pressure of the wind
* Keelson - an internal beam fixed to the top of the keel to strengthen the joint of the upper members of the boat to the keel
* Rudder - a steering device at the rear of the hull created by a turnable blade on a vertical axis
* Sheer - the generally curved shape of the top of the hull. The sheer is traditionally lowest amidships to maximize freeboard at the ends of the hull. Sheers can be reverse, higher in the middle, to maximize space inside or straight or a combination of shapes.
* Stem - a continuation of the keel upwards at the front of the hull
* Stern - the back of the boat
* Strake - a strip of material running longitudinally along the vessel's side, bilge or bottom
* Transom - a wide, flat, sometimes vertical board at the rear of the hull, which, on small power boats, is often designed to carry an outboard motor. Transoms increase width and also buoyancy at the stern.