Push boat
When push boat , colloquially slipcase is called a pushing vessel ship in the inland waterway transport , which itself carries no charge and one or more barges pushes. There are up to six push barges on the Rhine, up to nine on the Lower Danube, and over 40 barges on the Mississippi. The official abbreviation for a cargo ship push light is "GSL", for a tanker push light "TSL". With the construction of push boats and the associated push barges in the 1960s, the end of tug shipping on the Rhine within inland shipping was finally initiated.
The principle is similar to that of tractor units (trucks without their own loading facility) and semi-trailers . Push boat or tractor unit can separate from the lighter or from the trailer and move on; the latter have the function of a transportable warehouse for a while until they are unloaded or transported on.
history
The development of pusher shipping began in the USA in the 19th century on the Mississippi . There the barges were coupled together to form large rafts and pushed by a powerful steamship. In Europe, on the other hand, tug shipping was preferred. In France in 1880 tried using a steamer, a wedge-shaped cut some Jaqual Péniche to push. The attempt was successful, but found no interest in inland shipping. It took almost 80 years for push boats to establish themselves on European rivers and canals.
At the end of the 1920s, Bayerischer Lloyd undertook its first test runs on the Danube with the Isar twin-screw steamer converted into a pushboat . In 1929 the Deggendorf shipyard was commissioned to build the push boat Uhu , which carried out its first test drives on October 10, 1930. The 700 hp MAN diesel engine type W7V28 / 38 powered two Voith-Schneider propellers . Since this type of drive was still being developed, there were frequent breakdowns. The first trips were made with three tank barges, which were coupled in a dovetail formation. Later three tanker barges were built, which had a total load capacity of 810 tons with a 1.25 m draft. Due to the many malfunctions in the propulsion system, the pushing ship was stopped again and in 1939 the pushing ship was converted into a conventional tug, which then continued under the name of Danzig .
Since the mid-1960s, inland shipping in the GDR has been relying on the rapid and comprehensive introduction of pushing shipping, since its inherent advantages could be used within the framework of a large company such as VEB Deutsche Binnenreederei .
Push boat
The first push boat on the Rhine was the converted French tug President-Herrenschmidt in 1957 . Push boats for navigation on the Rhine are built up to a size of 40.0 m × 15.0 m. The draft is up to 1.90 m. The large push boats, which push up to six barges, are usually equipped with three diesel engines with a total output of around 6,000 hp. The propellers, which mostly run in Kort nozzles , are driven by reversing gears with reduction. The most powerful push boat on the Rhine is the Herkules II ex. A. Auberger , with 6,030 hp. The crew of a push boat consists of six to seven men, including two skippers, a helmsman, a machinist and two to three sailors. The crews usually travel two weeks and then have two weeks off.
For better maneuverability, apart from the main rudders in front of the propeller, there are usually two flank rudders in front of the propeller. Some push boats also have a very powerful bow thruster instead .
In addition to the anchor winches aft, there are also coupling winches for attaching the push barges. The coupling wires with a diameter of around three centimeters have a high breaking strength .
The superstructures for the accommodations, sanitary rooms and galley are mostly spread over two decks. Above this is the wheelhouse with all the facilities necessary for safe navigation. In some push boats, the height of the steering position can be adjusted hydraulically in order to be able to pass through low passages or to have a better overview for special transports.
While the push boats on the Rhine are mostly comparatively large ships that are mainly used for long transport routes with large associations, the GDR's state-owned inland shipping company ( VEB Deutsche Binnenreederei ) has developed a large number of push boats of various sizes that allow optimal use of waterways of different sizes allowed without the cargo having to be reloaded. At the transition to a smaller or larger waterway, the push barges were recoupled to form units of the appropriate size and taken over by a corresponding push boat.
The world's most powerful push boat, the JS McDermott , renamed E. Bronson Ingram in May 2004 , has 10,500 hp and pushes up to 70 push barges on the Mississippi . Pushed convoys with 40 barges are normal; Only 15 barges are allowed on the dammed section of the Mississippi. However, the barges only have a load capacity of 1500 tons.
Push convoy
The push boat with the barges to a craft assembly coupled: at four GSL in the downhill and in the ascent two adjacent plus two against one "sixes Association" (with six GSL) in downstream three adjacent plus three in front. On the ascent, 2 × 2 × 2 GSL each. Depending on the size and number of the barges, this push convoy has a load capacity of up to 16,000 loading tons. A "group of six" (with six GSL - only approved on the Lower Rhine ) drives both up and down the mountain with six push barges.
The push barges, type Europa IIa, have the dimensions: 76.5 m × 11.4 m × 4.0 m and a load capacity of 2800 tons. The largest possible dimension for push convoys with 6 barges is 269.5 m × 22.8 m in the uphill and 193.0 m × 34.2 m in the downhill. Depending on the weather conditions and strong winds, the foremost barges with a head rudder controlled from the wheelhouse are used in the empty descent.
An empty push convoy with four push barges traveling uphill (see also downhill ) can also be turned down the river from a certain water level (Rhine). It is common, but not regular, when descending to the valley in Duisburg, but then with an "empty" association. A pushed convoy with only two push barges can - whether loaded or empty - turn to the valley or to the mountain without any problems. The high machine performance allows a stop within approx. 800–1000 m during normal downhill travel. In the event of an emergency braking, this distance is shortened to approx. 400–500 m using the stern anchors .
In addition to the large push boats described above, there are a large number of smaller boats that push only one or two barges or put together push convoys in ports. Tug push boats are a special form. You can push as well as tow. They are mostly older tug boats to which a push platform with coupling winches was attached.
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In passenger shipping, the “ TwinCruiser ” concept uses a principle similar to the push convoy in order to be able to transport passengers more comfortably. By separating the transport unit - here the cabin ship - and the drive unit, the exposure of the passengers to noise and vibrations is greatly reduced. In contrast to push units in goods transport, the push unit and pushed unit are permanently coupled to one another.
Coupling bandage
Another form in push shipping is the coupling formation . It is a combination of a cargo ship with up to three barges. It must not exceed the dimensions of 185.0 × 22.8 m. In recent years, more and more coupling convoys, which only consist of a motor ship and a specially designed barge, have been built. The design is about creating a connection that is as aerodynamic as possible between the stern of the barge and the bow of the motor ship in order to reduce operating costs. These associations drive one behind the other both uphill and downhill.
The two ships are connected either by means of coupling winches and wires, as in the push convoy , or by special hydraulic couplings that were developed in the 1960s by Heinrich Harbisch shipyard ( HA-DU coupling ). They make it possible to drive through tight curves with a coupling convoy, as the connection between the ship and the barge can be deflected to both sides by up to 12 degrees.
Headbarge
Head barges are used to transport hulls , which are brought in a push boat across the Main to a shipyard , mostly in the Netherlands, for the final construction .
The head barges are fastened in front of the ship's hull with four coupling winches and enable safe travel in narrow fairways thanks to the built-in bow thruster . They are equipped with their own ballast system so that their draft can be adjusted. Often head barges are built from old ship front parts (see picture). The Datrans 2 head barge , a completely new building, has the following dimensions: L = 8.08 m, W = 9.50 m, draft 0.87–3.23 m. The engine has an output of 350 hp.
Head barges were once the transport of LASH - barges on inland waterways. This made the association more aerodynamic. In recent times they have been used in front of push convoys in container service between Hamburg and Braunschweig or Minden.
literature
- Gerd Schuth: Pusher shipping on the Middle Rhine. Sutton-Verlag, Erfurt 2012, ISBN 978-3-95400-012-8 . (Review in: Contributions to the Rhine customer. Issue 62/2012, Koblenz 2009, p. 51)
- Ingo Heidbrink: German inland tanker shipping 1887–1994. Convent Verlag, 2000, ISBN 3-934613-09-8 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ingo Heidbrink: Technological revolution or evolution? The introduction of the pushed-tow system in East and West Germany . In: International Journal of Maritime History . tape 26 , no. 2 , May 2014, ISSN 0843-8714 , p. 304-321 , doi : 10.1177 / 0843871414527397 .
- ↑ Ingo Heidbrink: Technological revolution or evolution? The introduction of the pushed-tow system in East and West Germany . In: International Journal of Maritime History . tape 26 , no. 2 , May 2014, ISSN 0843-8714 , p. 304–321 , doi : 10.1177 / 0843871414527397 ( sagepub.com [accessed November 27, 2018]).
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ [2] , Heinrich Harbisch shipyard.