Page 8: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 15, 1977)

Role Of Ro/Ro Shipping

In Dry Cargo Trade

The past two to three years have seen a continuing growth of interest in ro/ro vessels, with a relatively small but neverthe- less steady stream of orders for this type of ship—both large and small — being placed with ship- yards in Europe and Japan. Ro/ ro handling was first introduced onto the European short-sea trades 30 years ago, and the con- cept has been successfully applied since the mid-1960s on a number of long-distance routes, for in- stance on the North Atlantic and between Europe and Australia.

It is therefore rather surprising that it is only fairly recently that the changing conditions of inter- national trade should have fo- cused so much attention on ro/ro.

It is true to say, however, that the difficulties which have emerged from the rapid opening up of trades to the developing coun- tries in the Middle East and elsewhere have highlighted the relative advantages of ro/ro vis- a-vis other transportation modes.

However, despite its apparent adaptability, the future of ro/ro is by no means assured. There is a consensus of opinion that the optimum advantage of ro/ro han- dling can only be achieved over short distances, and that it be-

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Whatever the realities of the situation, the value of the ro/ro vessel in the present world mar- ket, the considerable ingenuity which is constantly being ex- pended on design, and its evident potential for developing countries, where congestion is a perennial problem, more than justifies an in-depth assessment of its pres- ent and future role both in deep- sea and short-sea trades. The pur- pose of the present survey is to examine the employment and op- eration of ro/ro vessels, high- lighting costs and performance, as well as other important as- pects of their competitiveness with other shipping types.

The HPD survey of "RO/RO

SHIPPING: An Appraisal of its

Role in Dry Cargo Trade," in- cludes :

The development of ro/ro as part of a widespread movement toward unitization, and a brief comparison of ro/ro with other modes of unit transportation— containerships, barge carriers, pallet ships;

The growth of the ro/ro fleet and the impetus behind its devel- opment, identifying the main cen- ters of interest in this type of tonnage, and the extension of operational patterns, which has had a fundamental influence on design;

The various classes of ro/ro vessel, ranging from the short- sea combined passenger/freight ferry and pure ro/ro-cargo ferry, to the highly developed deepsea designs, including discussion of dimensions, speed, cargo-handling capability, etc., and considering the difference in employment for each of these types of vessel;

The potential size of the ro/ro fleet, examining trends in new- building orders, and in the po- tential employment of contracted tonnage;

An examination of the short- sea ro/ro operations, looking at the ownership of vessels, major routes and cargo types, and the progress which has been made in ship design to meet the demands of these trades, with special ref- erence to Northern European op- eration ;

A review of the major deepsea trades, and the vessels which have been built — or are being built — to serve them. Cargo ca- pacity, vessel dimensions and other vessel characteristis are de- tailed in a systematic manner, and the contribution of ro/ro space to these trades, by com- parison with cellular capacity, is discussed;

The development of ro/ro serv- ices into congested ports, describ- ing the onset of congestion and 14 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News