Estuary Ro-Ro vessel ? a novel concept

An unusual newbuilding entered the European water transport scene with the recent entry into service of the Waterways 1, an estuary Ro-Ro vessel designed for the transportation of new cars. Not only is the vessel capable of operating on the river Rhine and the Albert canal in Belgium, it is also able to navigate between Zeebrugge, Antwerp and Vlissingen, and this involves a short coastal trip.

Built by the Dutch shipbuilder Damen at its Bergum yard, the 110 metre long vessel is owned by the Antwerp-based Cobelfret Waterways company and will be used primarily to transport up to 544 cars of type 1, such as the Ford Fiesta, on its five car decks.

Decks 1 and 3 are permanent decks while the others are adjustable for height or, in the case of deck 5, removable. In addition, deck 3 is watertight and is provided with a watertight hatch measuring 20 x 3 metres.

Loading and discharging take place by means of a 12 metre long by 6.4 metre wide moveable bow ramp which provides access to deck 3. Alternatively, a removable loading ramp can be used to handle cars on decks 3, 4 and 5 while an internal ramp affords access to decks 1 and 2. Provision is made to stow vehicles up to 3.4 metres high on the tank top deck. To increase flexibility of operation, the owners have the option of removing the Ro-Ro decks and hoistable ramps to allow the stowage of 208 TEU

containers.

Bridge

Accommodation for five crew members is provided aft together with a hoistable navigation bridge which can be lowered when a low air draught is required to negotiate river and canal bridges.

The main propulsion plant consists of two high speed 3512 B-DI-TA Caterpillar diesel engines each with an output of 955kW at 1,600rpm. Each of these engines drives a 1,700mm diameter Lips FP propeller which revolves in a propulsion nozzle and enables the vessel to maintain a service speed of 10 knots at a draught of 3.2 metres. The main engine can be controlled both from the engine room and the bridge. The auxiliary power plant consists of two Cummins 6CT8.3 engines which are installed in the main engine room, powering two Newage Stamford generators with another Cummins 4BT3.9-G3 genset and Stamford generator located in the forward engine room.

Steering

Steering

is achieved by means of two free-hanging rudders and manoeuvrability is further enhanced by Dutch built and designed Veth Jet 4K1300 bow thrusters. These are driven by a Cummins KTA-19-G3 diesel with an output of 511kW. The principle of the Veth-Jet is as simple as it is effective.

With the help of a horizontal mounted propeller, the water is sucked up from underneath the vessel and is manoeuvred by means of a 360° rotating deflector. This then turns the water through 90° and forces it through a

tunnel.