A huge number of rivers flow through all of Russia, connecting numerous cities. They are also used to move goods from one population center to another. Of course, this is not the fastest delivery option. But it does not require too much investment. It is worth noting that a wide variety of bulk cargo can be transported by river transport. However, this service has some features and even limitations.

Features of river transport

Many companies organize transportation of a wide variety of goods along rivers. This service has its advantages and, of course, disadvantages.

Transportation of goods by river transport has a low cost. Therefore, it is very beneficial for customers. True, delivery takes a long time. After all, all river vessels do not exceed a speed of 20 km/h. In this regard, goods that do not require urgent delivery are usually transported. Among them:

• building materials;
• corn;
• oil;
• coal;
• crushed stone and sand;
• cars.

There are two ways to transport goods along rivers. These can be self-propelled vessels or special barges that are pushed by a tug. The latter are most often used to deliver bulk cargo. The largest vessels that move along rivers have a carrying capacity of up to 5,000 tons, a length of just under 140 meters, and a width of almost 17 meters. This means that the transported cargo can have almost any dimensions. The permissible limit is maximum dimensions vessel.

It is worth noting that in winter, transporting goods by river transport is impossible. After all, at this time of year the rivers are covered with ice, and navigation on them stops. Another important disadvantage of such services from cargo transportation companies is the impossibility of river delivery to some destinations. The thing is that there are few ports in the country that can accommodate cargo ships.

Services in the field of river freight transportation

By contacting special companies involved in cargo transportation, you can receive not only the service of transporting goods using river vessels, but also other related and necessary services:

• determining the fastest and most optimal route;
• proper storage cargo;
• combining river, sea and road delivery options;
• clearance of goods at customs directly at the ports;
• insurance of transported property in case of unforeseen circumstances.

Price issue

Of course, transporting goods by river transport costs much less than road or rail delivery. However, prices may vary depending on many factors:

1. Type of cargo. Transportation of sand, crushed stone, gravel and other similar goods costs more.
2. Type of river. Tariffs are higher for transporting goods on small rivers. After all, this is a more expensive option.
3. Type of dispatch. There is ship, groupage, container and small shipment of cargo. Of course, the cost for each of them is different.
4. Shipping Company. These differences in the cost of freight transportation prices are due to differences in climate, working conditions and characteristics of the water route in each specific shipping company.

There is no single clear cost for the delivery of goods by river transport. Therefore, specialized companies individually contact each client and make a calculation based on the order parameters.

A type of transport that transports goods and passengers both along natural (rivers, lakes, seas, oceans) and artificial (canals, reservoirs) waterways. Water transport is divided into sea and river. EdwART. Explanatory... ...Marine Dictionary

See Maritime transport, River transport... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

The general name for modes of transport that use waterways (sea, oceans, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, canals). See also Maritime transport, River transport Concise geographical dictionary. EdwART. 2008 ... Geographical encyclopedia

- “Water Transport”, the central newspaper of water workers, the organ of the Ministry of the Navy of the USSR, the Ministry of River Fleet of the RSFSR and the Central Committee of the Trade Union of Sea and River Fleet Workers. Founded in 1932. Published in Moscow 3 times a week. From July 1940 to January... ...

water transport- — EN water transportation Transportation of goods or persons by means of ships traveling on the sea or on inland waterways. (Source: CEDa)… … Technical Translator's Guide

water transport- A type of transport engaged in the transportation of passengers and goods along natural (rivers, lakes, seas and oceans) and artificial (canals, reservoirs) waterways... Dictionary of Geography

See Maritime transport, River transport. * * * WATER TRANSPORT WATER TRANSPORT, see Sea transport (see MARINE TRANSPORT), River transport (see RIVER TRANSPORT) ... encyclopedic Dictionary

I Water transport is a type of transport that transports goods and passengers along waterways, both natural (rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, straits) and artificial (canals, reservoirs, etc.) Water transport is divided into sea and... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Water transport … Moscow (encyclopedia)

A type of transport that transports passengers and cargo along rivers, lakes, canals, along sea coasts, as well as on transoceanic flights. Waterways. Paths along rivers and lakes greatly facilitated the exploration and development of almost all... ... Collier's Encyclopedia

Books

• Water transport Visual and didactic aid, Minisheva T.. Visual and didactic aid “Water transport” of the “World in Pictures” series, intended for group and individual lessons with children 3–7 years old in kindergarten and at home, introduce children to...
• Water transport. Visual and didactic aid. For children 3-7 years old (set of cards), T. Minisheva. A series of visual and didactic aids "The World in Pictures" is intended for group and individual lessons with children aged 3-7 years in kindergarten and at home. Each issue contains material on...

3. HISTORY OF WATER TRANSPORT

Water transport is a type of transport that transports passengers and cargo along rivers, lakes, canals, along sea coasts, as well as on transoceanic flights. That is, this is transport using natural and artificial reservoirs. The main means of transport is a ship.

In modern terms, water transport is a production and technological complex, including a fleet, waterways, ports and ship repair enterprises.

Based on the type of water areas used, water transport is divided into river And nautical. Seagoing vessels must be seaworthy, that is, the ability not to break down or sink in rough seas. Sea vessels are usually larger than river vessels. Transportation on lakes is usually classified as river transport (with the exception of the largest lakes, such as the Caspian Sea). Although today these differences are being erased, as river operators are widely introducing mixed river-sea navigation vessels. Such vessels can exit through river mouths into the sea, navigate it to ports located on it, or enter the mouths of other rivers.

Ports (sea and river) are used for loading and unloading cargo, and sea and river stations are built for passengers.

The main advantage of water transport is low energy costs, they are 6 times less than during transportation by rail and 25 times less than during transportation by road. An illustrative example was given by the famous French engineer J. E. Lamblardi at the end of the 18th – beginning of the 19th centuries:

“Five boatmen can transport at a certain time along the canal such a weight that to transport it at the same time and over the same distance would require 83 horses and 21 guides. But since part of the land sown to feed one horse can feed 8 people, therefore, without taking into account other costs, the ratio of costs for transportation by water and by land will be 1:137.”

Among other things, water transport is vital where land transport is impossible: between continents, islands, and also in underdeveloped areas. Ferries are an important type of water transport.

The speed of water transport is relatively low, but it is characterized by high throughput and very low transportation costs; in addition, it allows you to transport almost any large cargo.

The high capacity of water transport can be illustrated with this example. Suppose you need to deliver a cargo weighing 5,000 tons from one point to another, and this can be done by water and by land, while the waterway has a length of 500 km, and the road is 300 km long. To deliver this cargo by water transport, one cargo ship “Volgo-Don” will be required, on which the cargo will be delivered in one day on one flight. Delivery by road will require 500 trips of a KamAZ-53212 vehicle. Its speed is 3-4 times higher than the speed of the ship, so the first batch of cargo weighing 10 tons will be delivered to the final destination in 4-5 hours, that is, 20 hours faster than by water. But if there is one car available, then with two flights per day (1200 km), which exceeds current standards, the entire cargo will be transported in 250 days, if there are 2 cars - in 125 days, 10 cars - in 25 days, etc., that is, much slower than by water transport. Therefore, bulk cargo (large consignments of raw materials, such as coal or oil, ore or grain) can be delivered by water faster than by other modes of transport. And although at present water transport is almost not used for business passenger transportation (due to low speeds), it is very popular among tourists and outdoor enthusiasts in general. Large tourist vessels and a wide variety of boats, yachts and boats are used.

Routes along rivers and lakes greatly facilitated the exploration and development of almost all continents, and to this day they continue to serve both for travel and for commercial purposes. Although shipping requirements vary from country to country, a depth of at least 1.2 m is generally required to allow vessels to pass through.

Another disadvantage of water transport is the seasonality of its operation. In addition, the route along the river is often not the shortest; rivers are often winding.

Most ships are designed in accordance with navigation requirements (sailing mode) and for a specific type of cargo. Some river vessels are intended only for passengers, more vessels are used to transport passengers and cargo (cargo-passenger), but the bulk of the vessels specialize in the transport of goods. There are four main types of sea vessels:

1) cargo ships (dry cargo, liquid, combined, etc.) that carry out individual orders or operate on regular routes;

2) cargo-passenger ships;

3) high-speed passenger liners with two or three classes for passengers, as well as mail and luggage compartments;

4) a small number of comfortable high-speed ships, designed only for passengers and mail.

Some more features and advantages of water transport. The weight of rolling stock (packaging) moved along with cargo is 10–20% of the carrying capacity on inland waterways, and on railways it reaches 30% or more. The specific cost of rolling stock (that is, the cost per 1 ton of cargo) in water transport is 2–3 times less than in railway transport. Water transport, subject to environmental and sanitary rules, has minimal negative impact on the environment.

IN depending on shipping mode water pools are divided into:

basins with marine navigation regime, where there are International rules preventing ship collisions at sea;

pools with inland navigation, where the Rules for navigation on inland waterways apply;

non-navigable pools.

Depending on the remoteness of ports (shelters) and hydrometeorological conditionswater pools are divided into:

• coastal;

  inland water basins.

Depending on the method of origin, waterways are divided into natural and artificial (canals and sluice rivers).

The total length of rivers in Russia is about 4 million km, and about 100 thousand km of them are exploited, including: 73 thousand km are rivers in a natural state, 11 thousand km are lakes and 16 thousand km are artificial waterways .

In terms of their dimensions, that is, their dimensions, waterways must ensure the navigation of vessels of the largest (design) sizes.

By ship's progress(previously it was called the fairway, now this name remains only in navigation) is the underwater and surface space on the shipping route, intended for navigation and marked on the map or on the ground. The dimensions of a ship's passage are its depth, width, surface height limited by structures (bridges, transmission lines), and radius of curvature. The most important characteristic of a waterway is its guaranteed navigable depth. As a rule, other waterway dimensions are provided much more easily on both natural and artificial waterways.

Based on their transport purpose, inland waterways are divided into superhighways, highways and local routes. Their classification is given in the table.

Guaranteed depth- this is the depth that is maintained on the waterway during the entire navigation at the most low levels water.

Story

Since ancient times, people have used natural bodies of water - rivers, lakes and coastal areas of the seas - as routes of communication. At the same time, hydraulic engineering work has long been carried out to develop water transport communications.

The emergence of transport dates back to ancient times. In the conditions of a primitive economy, when only the rudiments of the social division of labor appear, the need for transport is small. The means of transport are primitive - well-trodden paths, packs, rollers for especially heavy loads, hollowed out tree trunks or flats, and later shuttles. In the era of a slave economy built on the exploitation of slave labor, transport takes a step forward in its development. Slave states fought numerous wars to conquer other countries, receive tribute from them, and capture slaves. Military and administrative needs required the development of transport. In China, Persia, and the Roman Empire, a large number of paved roads were built for military purposes. Exchange and trade in slaves, bread, textiles, and spices gradually grew. City-states arose on the Mediterranean Sea: Phenicia, Carthage and others, in which trade played a large role. Maritime shipping developed, rowing and then sailing ships appeared.

Water transport reached a high level of development in ancient times. Sea ships in that era were already advanced enough to sail long distances. Therefore, states quickly developed near the seas. No sea has had such a glorious fate as the Mediterranean. Many civilizations have developed on its shores, reached the heights of power, glory and greatness, leaving their descendants with their heritage in culture, architecture, science, etc.

The development of seaworthiness in ancient times can be divided into three periods:

I period – from the origins of seaworthiness to the appearance of sails. Stone Age people, who understood the importance of rivers and seas in their lives and began to harvest mollusks and other sea animals available to them, eventually created the simplest means of transportation - the distant ancestors of modern river and sea ships. At the same time, people invented the first movers - first a pole, and then an oar. Seaworthiness took a big step forward after its creation in the 5th – 4th millennium BC. e. sails - the most amazing discovery that has helped sailors for more than 6 thousand years and had a decisive influence on the development of seaworthiness.

II period – from the appearance of the sail to the first coastal voyages within the same sea basin. Improvements in shipbuilding have made it possible to build ships adapted for coastal sea voyages.

III period – from coastal coastal voyages to the first long sea voyages and the arrival of science at the service of seaworthiness. In the 1st millennium BC. e. The first long sea voyages take place. Shipbuilding technology has improved significantly.

Ancient Egypt

The full-flowing Nile overflows its banks at the end of July and only three months later returns to its channel. During periods of high water, the lower reaches of the river turned into a huge lake region and communication between villages located on the hills became possible only by floating means. It was impossible to live without ships. Therefore, it is natural that the inscriptions that have reached us, left in Ancient Egypt on clay tablets, on the walls of tombs, on stone steles, very often and in detail tell about everything related to voyages and ships. This is information about work at shipyards, about building materials, about voyage routes and about battles at sea.

The population of the fertile and peculiar country increased rapidly, and very early among them the expression of unity and nationality became the expression of royal power. The first among the kings local priestly historians mentioned Mina, who is believed to have begun reigning in 3892 BC. e. He is considered the founder of Memphis, a city that was built on the Nile, at its very exit from the valley, at the place where it branches into two branches of the delta. For thousands of years, this city was the natural capital of the country. Ten dynasties ruled, one after another, for a thousand years, and there is no other example in history of such a long era during which any people were given such an opportunity to develop their original way of life without any interference from without. During the same millennium, Southern (or Upper) Egypt gradually begins to emerge from the darkness. At its head is a city built one hundred miles above Memphis on the Nile, the so-called Thebes (Uisa), which is the second famous center of Egyptian life. It is possible that these two separate kingdoms, Memphis and Thebes, existed side by side independently for some time. This can be concluded from the fact that the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt, white and red, are constantly different in the images of the monuments. Subsequently, both kingdoms undoubtedly united, and a number of pharaohs continued to peacefully rule the country, which could exist on its own, without needing anyone.

The rapid development of civilization in Egypt was accompanied by the improvement of a wide variety of technological means, including shipbuilding. There is information that Egypt had sea ships for trade with Mediterranean cities 3.5 - 2 thousand years BC. e. To transport large loads, the Egyptians created special flat-bottomed vessels - barges. They achieved the required longitudinal strength thanks to the installation of additional reinforcements made of longitudinal wooden beams. The Egyptians made ships from local tree species, as well as from pine, which was brought from Syria. Approximately 2.5 thousand years BC. e. the Egyptians sent entire naval expeditions to Syria. The harbors of the Red Sea received ships with a variety of goods from eastern countries: India, China, Arabia.

Expeditions to the country of Punt (Somalia, eastern Africa) were well armed. Gold, stone vessels, earthenware products and others were exported from it. At the entrance to the port on the island of Pharos in the middle of the 3rd century BC. e. For the first time in history, a lighthouse was created, which became one of the wonders of the world. To protect against pirates, the Egyptian pharaohs had special warships. In the 3rd century BC. e. A forty-oared ship (tessarocontera) was built in Egypt. It had two bows and two sterns, and several rams. The length of the vessel was 280 feet, depth 38 feet. The ship had 4 thousand oarsmen, 3 thousand crew and 400 servants. The oars were filled with lead, which made the work of the rowers easier. The discoveries of archaeologists in the dead city of Saqqara gave historians a diagram of the technological process of making their ships by the Egyptians: the reliefs depicted successively different stages of construction: the hull is assembled from boards; caulked with reeds and tow; a rope is tied around the vessel along the height of the upper plating belt.

Here, for example, is how Pharaoh Ramses III proudly spoke to his descendants about shipbuilding and nautical achievements in Ancient Egypt from a stone monolith: “I built large boats and ships in front of them, manned by a large crew. Moreover, the ships were loaded with countless Egyptian goods. Moreover, they themselves, tens of thousands in number, were sent to the great Mu-Ked (Red) sea. They reach the country of Punt (Somalia). They are not in danger if they are whole because of fear.”(Obviously, before the great pharaoh).

Ancient Egyptian shipbuilding is usually divided into a number of periods.

I period (Predynastic, 5,300 – 3,500 BC). Papyrus rowing boats have a month-shaped profile, wide, flat-bottomed with a shallow draft. They were made from bundles of papyrus, which were woven into curved mats with raised ends. Papyrus ropes were used to bind papyrus into bundles and mats. The steering oar was installed in the stern. Already on these early designs, ancient shipbuilders used a rectangular sail on a mast supported by cable shrouds. Due to the lack of sufficiently strong spar trees, instead of a mast, two-legged goats with a horizontal short yard were used, on which a narrow high sail was attached. In addition to the sail, lancet-shaped oars, numbering from 8 to 26 on each side, were also used for movement; To steer the ship, 2 to 5 oars were used on each side in the stern. Reed as a shipbuilding material began to be used in Egypt because this country is extremely poor in timber. That is why on the Nile, ships made from tree trunks in the form of single trees could not appear first, as happened in places rich in forests. Since the main technological operation in the manufacture of a vessel in those days was tying reed stalks and mats assembled from them, even in later times the Egyptians spoke not about building, but about tying ships. In the sailing ships of the Egyptians, the bow and stern were additionally tightened with a rope, which created a more rigid and durable structure. On the Isthmus of Suez, the conventional geographical border of Africa and Asia, the Egyptians discovered the “Great Black” - a system of bitterly salty lakes, through which the lower part of the Suez Canal subsequently passed. Here at the top of the Gulf of Suez by the middle of the 26th century BC. e. Pharaoh Sahura built the first shipyard.

On ships intended for long journeys, there were cabins woven from reeds. The number of the team reached 70 people.

By the way, reed ships were built not only by the Egyptians, but also by the inhabitants of the Tigris and Euphrates river basin. There is an assumption that such ships sailed not only on rivers, but also on the sea. In this regard, the following facts are interesting. An image of a reed ship from the time of the Minoan civilization (III - II millennium BC) was found near the island of Crete and on one of the Argolican islands, that is, far from navigable rivers.

In 1969, the Norwegian scientist Thor Heyerdahl made an interesting attempt to test the assumption that a ship equipped with a sail, made from papyrus reeds, could sail not only along the Nile, but also on the open sea. This vessel, essentially a raft, 15 m long, 5 m wide and 1.5 m high, with a 10 m high mast and a single square sail, was steered by a steering oar. The initial attempt by Thor Heyerdahl and his companions to sail a papyrus ship across the Atlantic Ocean to America failed. However, the possibility of long-distance sea voyage received undoubted confirmation, which prompted the scientist to make a second attempt in 1970, which was crowned with complete success.

II period (the era of the pharaonic dynasties 3200 - 2240 BC). Wooden shipbuilding appeared and began to develop in Egypt. Externally, the wooden boat was the “sister” of its papyrus predecessor - the same “orange peel” profile, raised ends and a flat bottom. The boards were obtained by sawing twisted trunks of acacia and fig trees. The length of these vessels is 25–30 m, width 3.5–4.0 m. An image of a similar vessel was found in the tomb of Pharaoh Sakhur in Memphis. Design features of the vessels: an internal keel, cross members were attached to it, and to the latter - plating on wooden brackets. The sheathing and fastening of the ties were almost literally “sewn on” using ropes. Short boards of low-growing acacia were used for cladding. To strengthen the hull, a braided rope went around the sides, and the bow and stern were connected by a central rope on the racks, which was twisted like a spring using transverse racks. Thus, even in those ancient times shipbuilders have found a progressive method of prestressed construction. At the same time, continuity in shipbuilding technology with the period of reed shipbuilding is seen in the rope fastening method. A two-legged removable mast with a high rectangular sail was placed in the middle of the vessel. Six steering oars were installed on the stern platform. Rowing with short oars without rowlocks (as on modern canoes). An internal longitudinal keel with powerful cross-sections, the so-called traverses, ran from the bow to the stern of the boat. Sheathing boards, which were mounted on spikes, were attached to the traverses. Due to the lack of long planks and an external keel, the ship became too fragile to be tested by sea waves, which is why its entire length along the sides had to be wrapped with a cable. To protect the hull from bending, the bow and stern were spread out by transverse beams. Another cable was stretched between them, which rested on vertical posts with a fork.

The ship had a primitive quadrangular sail, with which it could only sail with the wind. Due to the modest control capabilities, the Egyptians did not place much hope in the sail, and therefore their sea vessels, like the Nile boats, remained rowing for a long time. The only collapsible two-legged mast, which was lowered if necessary, was held in place by stays. The sail, unusually high and narrow, was attached to the yardarm. The vessel's armament was completed with rowing oars, as well as one or more oar-rudders, firmly fixed in rowlocks at the stern. By placing the usual stroke on the gunwale, the Egyptians made the oar work on the principle of a lever. The ship was propelled by significantly less muscular effort, which was immediately recognized as very advantageous and was taken into account by subsequent generations of shipbuilders. It is difficult to say exactly when the complete transition from stroke to oar occurred. Bas-reliefs depicting the first forty-oared ships found on Egyptian monuments take us back to 2800 - 2000 BC. e.

III period ( times of the New Kingdom, from the 2nd millennium BC. e.). Following the example of the Phoenicians, famous for their ship craftsmanship, the Egyptians began to use tall coniferous trees, specially imported for this purpose from Lebanon. Beams hewn from their long trunks gave the ship's hull greater strength.

The profile of the vessel became noticeably sharper, the bow and stern rose even higher. The tying belt was forever a thing of the past, but, in order to avoid longitudinal bending of the ship, the shipbuilders still continued to tension the cable between the beams at the bow and stern. Thanks to the transverse beams, the ends of which protruded from the skin, the structure of the ship was significantly strengthened. The quadrangular sail became lower, wider and was no longer attached to one, as before, but to two yards. The role of the rudder was played by two stern oars with wide blades, which had handles for control. The dimensions of the vessels have increased: length up to 30 - 40 m, width up to 4.0 - 6.5 m, displacement up to 60 - 80 tons. Sheathing is made from long planks, which provide greater strength to new ships. The external rope harness also disappears; the longitudinal tie-rope and the inner keel, bow and stern beams (stem and sternpost) have been preserved; a straight sail was installed on the mast on two yards (with curved ends); the anchor was a stone with a hole for a rope (an image of such a vessel was preserved in the temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahri.).

Based on ancient Egyptian bas-reliefs, the famous Swedish scientist and naval historian V. Lundstrem reconstructed the appearance of an Egyptian warship of the 1200s BC. e. It had a rather elongated hull with a strong transverse frame, supported by a powerful keel beam, which made it possible to abandon the longitudinal tie with a rope, so characteristic of merchant ships. The keel beam in the bow ended with a metal ram in the shape of an animal's head.

One, but large, steering oar was attached to the far protruding sternpost. Additional strength to the hull was provided by cans from side to side. The rowers protected themselves from arrows with an 80-centimeter bulwark. At the ends of the vessel, fenced platforms for archers were rigidly attached, which were also located in a wicker basket at the top of the mast. Egyptian archers, armed with long-range (hit 150 - 160 m) bows, were the main striking force of the Egyptian warship. The length of such ships ranged from 30 to 40 m.

The development of maritime trade in Ancient Egypt entailed improvements in ship designs. Bow and stern beams appeared. Tenons were made on them, where the sheathing boards fit. The bow overhang was reduced, the steering oars were enlarged and secured in strong oarlocks. However, due to the still insufficient longitudinal strength, the hull was tied together with a rope on special supports. There were small areas at the bow and stern. A mast with a straight sail and two yards curved at the ends made up the sailing rig. The anchor was a stone tied with a rope. The displacement of Egyptian sea vessels (in 1500 BC) reached 60 - 80 tons. Larger ships were also built to transport building materials, stone blocks for pyramids, and obelisks. Small oarlock pegs were attached along the side gunwales, to which short oars with spear-shaped blades were tied.

Having started building giant ships back in the time of Queen Hatshepsut (1500 BC), the ancient Egyptians became, perhaps, the first shipbuilders to seriously “sick” with gigantomania.

The queen was actively engaged in temple construction, and huge ships were intended to help. At her behest, a transport vessel with a displacement of 1.5 thousand tons was created, which had a length of 63 m, a width of 21 m, a side height of 6 m and a draft of 2 m. The bottom stringers were assembled from thick beams that ran from one stem to another, and the beams - from three rows of logs stretched through the outer skin.

Ships of Hatshepsut. Drawing of the relief from the Temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahri

The monumentality of the ship left no doubt that it would cope with the honorable mission of transporting two 350-ton granite obelisks along the Nile from the rocks of Aswan to the holy city of Thebes. However, it was quite difficult for him to move forward: the ship was towed by boats, and only four steering oars were installed on it in the stern. The growth in displacement and size of the ships of the ancient Egyptians was spurred on by the achievements of the Greeks - their neighbors and rivals at sea. Thus, according to the letters left by contemporaries of these distant events, Egypt’s response to the construction of the oared giant “Syracusan” with a displacement of 4.2 thousand tons was a huge multi-tiered ship with a length of 128 m at that time and 4 thousand oarsmen. Its width reached 17 m, the height of the bow and stern above the water was 22 m, and its displacement was 3 thousand tons. The mast had a height of about 40 m, while the length of the oars of the upper tier reached 19 m.

In 1952, the oldest Egyptian ship, about 4.5 thousand years old, was found near the Cheops pyramid. This is the funeral boat of the pharaoh.

The design of the ship's hull from the Cheops pyramid

It was found in a disassembled state in a trench cut into limestone; apparently, it was dismantled to save space. The 650 pieces were carefully laid out in 13 layers and covered with crushed stone. The reconstruction of this ship lasted 16 years and ended only in 1968. The crescent-shaped hull of the vessel with a displacement of 40 tons had a length of 43.4 m with a width of 5.9 m. It had only six pairs of oars 7.8 m long and only two short (6.8 m) stern oars - in appearance a typical river punt » sewn design. However, beams sewn to the sides for deck flooring were installed in the grooves of the longitudinal beam-keel. The resinous cedar and fig boards are well preserved. It was also possible to imagine the construction technology: the external cladding boards were assembled end-to-end and fastened with ropes. The longitudinal seams were sealed with slats. A longitudinal beam was attached to the transverse bottom beams with ropes. Both beams and deck boards were secured with ropes. In the water, the hull planks swelled, the rope ties tightened, and the ship became waterproof.

Boat found at the Pyramid of Cheops

According to Egyptologists, the pharaoh set off on his last journey on this boat. After restoration, the remarkable discovery of archaeologists was put on public display in a museum specially created for this purpose, which is located not far from the tomb of the legendary pharaoh.

The Egyptians could not imagine not only real life, but also the afterlife without boats and ships. On the tomb of the nobleman, among the most worthy deeds performed by the deceased, one of the first is listed: “I made a boat for those who did not have a boat” - this, obviously, according to ancient Egyptian concepts, is almost the same as saving a person’s life. So that the ruler could remember his ships in the next world, numerous models of various ships were placed in the tomb of Pharaoh Akhtoy - the originals could not fit into the premises of the tomb. These miniature replicas give scientists the opportunity to reconstruct different types of ships: for trade voyages, for transporting goods, for funeral ceremonies.

Funeral boat from the tomb of Amenhotep II.

Tree. Cairo. Egyptian Museum

In later times (2nd millennium BC), warships appeared in Egypt, the bow of which was adapted to deliver a ramming attack. On the wall reliefs of the Temple of Medinet Habu, executed by order of Ramesses III around 1190 BC. e., depicts the battle of the Egyptian fleet with the ships of the “Sea Peoples”.

The "Sea Peoples" were sea pirates based on the islands of the Mediterranean Sea and on the coast of Southern Europe. They attacked Egypt repeatedly. Around 1200 BC. e. Pharaoh Ramses III, having a fleet of 400 ships, near the city of Migdol in Libya was able to defeat the fleet of the “peoples of the sea”, in alliance with whom the Libyans were acting. This was the first known naval battle in history.

Naval battle with the “peoples of the sea” under Ramesses III Part of the relief from the temple of Medinet Habu

During the reign of Pharaoh Necho, Phoenician sailors hired for service, by order of the ruler, circumnavigated Africa on their ships. Coming out of the Red (Eritrean) Sea, they passed through the Indian Ocean (South Sea), passed Gibraltar (Pillars of Melqart) and returned to Egypt. Only 2,000 years later Vasco da Gama was able to repeat this feat. By the way, the same pharaoh, a devotee of navigation, began to restore the canal connecting the eastern branch of the Nile with the Red Sea. According to the legends of the Egyptians, it was dug by the great conqueror Sozostris, whose identity has not been established by Egyptologists. However, there is information that already in 1470 BC. e. the channel existed. On the wall of the temple in Thebes of Queen Hatshepsut, a relief has been preserved, which depicts the route of the expedition sent to Africa, and indicates that the fleet passed from the Nile to the Red Sea without stopping. The moving sands of the desert washed over the canal bed, and it had to be restored again and again. It is known that these works were carried out during the reign of Ramesses II the Great (1317–1251 BC), and after Pharaoh Necho they were continued by the Persian king Darius, who ruled Egypt in 522–486 BC. e.

Persian king Darius

An inscription made by Darius has been preserved: “I ordered a canal to be dug from the Nile River, which flows in Egypt, to the sea, which extends to the shores of Persia. This canal was dug as I commanded, and ships sailed along it from Egypt to Persia in fulfillment of my will.” There is evidence that 120,000 slaves and Egyptian peasants died during construction, but the work was completed. As Herodotus testifies, it was possible to sail along this canal for four days, and its width was such that two triremes could sail side by side without interfering with each other. Later, when the Egyptian civilization died, the canal was filled in. Napoleon made a new, but unsuccessful attempt to restore the canal during his Egyptian campaign in 1798. The expedition around Africa, organized by the pharaoh, was a test of strength. There is evidence of Egyptian ships traveling to the area of ​​present-day Lebanon, Syria, as well as to the east - to India, from where local merchants brought incense, jewelry, and spices. Clay tablets have been preserved and the name of one of the first Egyptian sailors - the helmsman Un-Amun, who in the 11th century BC. e. made a transition to the Phoenician port of Byblos and left a detailed report about it. By the way, mentions of a large caste of helmsmen and a caste of interpreters allow us to conclude that voyages to neighboring countries have become commonplace.

The fleet of Ancient Egypt was primarily a river fleet. This is explained by the fact that the Egyptian priests considered the sea to be the habitat of evil forces. Therefore, not only go to sea, but catch and eat sea fish for a long time was considered a terrible sin. Sea trade was carried out by neighboring countries - the Cretans and Phoenicians. However, the most far-sighted pharaohs were already planning bold sea expeditions. The Egyptians wrote about ships, drew pictures of ships, placed models of ships in the burial chamber of the pyramid, and told fairy tales about ships. Among the first Egyptian literary works known to us can be called “Tales of the Sons of Pharaoh Khufu,” and among them one of the most terrible is the tale of a shipwrecked sailor who found himself on a desert island and entered into a fight with a monster. Scientists date the origin of this plot to the 20th century BC. e.

The Nile River, as the main waterway, played a big role in the formation of the Egyptian state. Even the hymn of the XII dynasty (early 2nd millennium BC) sounded like this: “Glory to you, Nile! Glory to you, who appeared on earth, in the world, to give life to Egypt.”

Thanks to almost constant northeast winds, sailing ships rose up against the current of the Nile. Downstream the ships were floated downstream all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. In the Nile Delta already by 3000 BC. e. The seaport of A-Ur arose. After the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 330 BC. e. on the site of A-Ura a new port and city was built, called Alexandria. Large papyrus ships sailed across the Mediterranean Sea, calling at the Black, Marmara, Aegean, Adriatic and other surrounding seas. As shown by the experimental voyage in 1969–1970 on the papyrus ship “Ra” by the Norwegian ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl, the ancient Egyptians could even reach America from Africa on large papyrus ships.

Navigation in Ancient Egypt took place not only along the Nile and its tributaries, but also through artificial structures - irrigation canals, which were of sufficient size for this. The network of such canals especially developed during the reign of Sesostris III (1878 - 1841 BC). The canals served not only for navigation, they stored water during floods for use for irrigation, as well as for drinking water supply with fresh water from the Nile, since the water in the wells was brackish. Under the same pharaoh, the construction of a large canal from the Nile Delta to the Red Sea (the future Suez Canal) began. Under Pharaoh Ramses II, about 70 km of the canal was built, and the canal was also built under Pharaoh Necho (616 - 601 BC). According to Herodotus, Necho stopped construction due to an unfavorable dictum from an oracle. According to some information, the construction of the canal ended under Pharaoh Darius I (522 - 486 BC). However, the ancient Greek historian and geographer Strabo (64 BC - 24 AD) in his books “Geography” writes that Darius “threw away the almost completed work, for he was convinced that the Red Sea lay above Egypt, and If you dig through the entire isthmus, Egypt will be flooded by the sea.” According to other sources, the construction of the canal was completed under Pharaoh Ptolemy II. The canal was fed with water from the Nile, which had a beneficial effect on the condition of the water bodies through which the canal route passed. Strabo writes: “The canal flows through the so-called Bitter Lakes, which were formerly truly bitter. But since the canal was dug, the composition of the water has changed due to the admixture of river water; now they abound in fish and water birds.” Herodotus traveled along this canal and described it this way: “This canal is four days long by sea and so wide that two triremes can easily pass in it.” Elsewhere he gives the exact dimensions of the canal - the width is 70 cubits (cubit ~ 0.5 m). Then the canal fell into disrepair and was abandoned, most likely due to the shallowing of the Nile. The Roman commander Mark Antony (83 - 30 BC) arrived in Alexandria after the defeat of the Egyptian fleet and found Queen Cleopatra of Egypt at the moment when her ships were being transported across the isthmus between the Nile and the Red Sea.

Under the emperors Trajan (53 - 117 AD) and Hadrian (76 - 138 AD), the canal was restored, expanded to 100 cubits and for a long time called the “Trajan River”. It also existed during the Arab rule in Egypt. Historians of those times wrote: “Ships loaded with grain descended along this canal into the Arabian Gulf. Omar ordered it to be cleaned and deepened." The canal existed in this form for another 150 years, and by order of Caliph Abu Jafar in 776, the entrance to the canal from the Red Sea was filled with soil and stones. Historians are divided on the reasons for this. Some believe that the Arabs who founded Baghdad feared that the canal would interfere with their successful trade. Others refer to the uprising in the city of Medina and the danger of the destruction of Egypt as an integral state.

The route of the ancient canal passed through low-lying areas along which the modern Suez Canal passed in its southern part.

Suez Canal (satellite photo)

Sumerian civilization in Mesopotamia

One of the oldest known hydraulic structures, dating back to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. e., there were canals in Mesopotamia (between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers). They formed a system that was supplemented with new links over time and functioned until the Arab conquests of the 7th century.

The Tigris and Euphrates were the main irrigation and transport routes of the country: both rivers connected Mesopotamia with neighboring countries, with ancient Armenia (Urartu), Iran, Asia Minor, and Syria. The need to obtain various types of missing raw materials from neighboring countries contributed to the development of quite significant foreign trade. So, we know that the Sumerians brought copper from Elam, Iran and Assyria, and wood from the mountainous regions lying north and east of Mesopotamia. Despite the rather wide territorial scope, this trade was still very primitive. This was the oldest barter trade, in which goods of some types were only exchanged for other goods. The expansion of trade in ancient Mesopotamia also entailed the development of transport.

In canal-riddled Mesopotamia, dams served as land roads. The main royal roads to all ends of the country passed along them. Carts drawn by donkeys, mules, oxen, and pack caravans of donkeys and camels moved along them, using packs, chariots and carts moving with the help of very primitive disc wheels. Examples of these primitive chariots and their images were found during excavations in the city of Ur.

But water transport has played a particularly important role in the country since ancient times, because rivers and canals are the most convenient and cheapest means of communication.

The Babylonians had various types of ships, from wooden ships and boats that sailed with oars and sails, to fishing canoes made of reeds.

In the Eastern Desert there is a valley called the “Father of Boat Builders” - Wadi Abu Makarat el Nes. (Wadi is the bed of ancient irrigation canals). Back in 1936 - 1937, stone drawings were found here depicting Sumerian boats with highly curved bows.

The most common typically Babylonian type of cargo ship was the gufa. Herodotus described it as follows: “The Babylonian ships that sail along the river to Babylon are round in shape and made entirely of leather. Having cut willows in the land of the Armenians, who live above the Assyrians, and made the sides of the vessel out of it, they then cover them with skins and make a semblance of a bottom, without expanding the walls of the stern and without narrowing the bow, but giving the vessel the shape of a round shield. After this, the entire vessel is filled with straw, loaded and sent down the river. The cargo consists mainly of barrels of palm wine. The ship is steered by two rudders by two men standing tall. One of them pulls the steering wheel towards him, and the other pushes him away. These ships are made both very large and smaller; the largest of them lift five thousand talents (131 tons) of cargo. Each vessel accommodates one donkey, and larger ones can accommodate several. When the sailors arrive in Babylon and sell the cargo, they also sell the skeleton of the ship and all the straw, and load the skins on donkeys and take them to the Armenians. After all, these ships cannot sail up the river due to the speed of the current. Arriving back to the Armenians with donkeys, the Babylonians again made ships for themselves in the same way. Such are their courts."

In tuffs similar to those of Babylon, the inhabitants of Iraq still swim along the Tigris and Euphrates.

Drawings of Sumerian boats from the Wadi Abu Makarat el Nes valley

Sacred barge of the gods. Seal impression from Varka (Sumer), III millennium BC. e.

Long before the founding of the ancient Egyptian kingdom, in the middle of the desert, countless images of ships and boats were painted on the rocks, which are very similar to Sumerian ones. They have high bows and sterns, are flat-bottomed and do not look like the boats that the Egyptians later sailed on the Nile.

Cargo ships of Babylon

Not far from Kanais, a drawing of a ship was found on which 69 figures stand, another drawing in which the wheelhouse, 50 crew members are visible, and one of them, towering above all, points west towards the Nile. A 1.8 m long relief was found on the rocks depicting a ship with 70 crew members being pulled by ropes. This story is not unique. Stone paintings in which people, depicted in the form of notches, pulling vessels of various sizes behind them, come across quite often.

All images are painted along the direction of movement of these boats, dragging across the sands from the Red Sea to the Nile, on the way to the gold mines of the Eastern Desert. This is another confirmation that the Sumerians from the coast pulled ships with ropes in the direction of the Nile.

At their core, these are stories about an expedition of sailors who landed on the western coast of the Red Sea. Scientists called them the “Square Boat People.”

The Sumerians built their first boats from reeds. However, the trouble was that it actively absorbs water, and the buoyancy of such a ship was low. Then, to protect the ship, they began to cover its bottom and sides with bitumen, which was abundantly provided by the deposits of northern Mesopotamia. By the way, even today the boats of some Arab tribes are covered with bitumen. The discovered drawings make it possible to see heavy stones on the bow of the Sumerian ships, which were supposed to enhance the ramming properties of the ships and did not allow the bottom to be exposed.

It was on such ships that the Sumerians began their journey to Egypt, setting off from the Persian Gulf, circumnavigating the Arabian Peninsula, passing along the coast of the Indian Ocean, and entering the Red Sea. Their voyage south from Sumer was facilitated by the prevailing winds, which helped the ships carry a load of up to 20 tons. Thor Heyerdahl built such a boat, calling it Tigris, and proved that such ships are capable of sea voyages.

The Sumerians setting off on sea voyages to Egypt made frequent stops along the route. One of the main sites was Punt, whose influence spread to both shores in the southern part of the Red Sea. Punt also owned the island of Hafun, part of the Bahrain archipelago. Having founded a fortification on this island, the Sumerians took control of the entire coast. It was from the islands, as some scientists believe, that the people known later as the Phoenicians emerged. To the Egyptians they were known as the “people of Fin” - inhabitants of the Land of the Gods, or the country of Punt. An inscription found in Egypt, written on a stone slab around 3 thousand years BC. e., indicates that forty ships filled with cedar forest arrived in Egypt from Phenicia. Until now, the inhabitants of modern Iran use another Babylonian type of vessel - the kelek, a raft on leather skins inflated with air.

Phoenicia

The place of the leader in the vastness of the Mediterranean Sea from the 10th century BC. e. occupied by Phenicia. Its history is no less ancient and glorious than the history of Egypt. The settlement of the Phoenicians on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea dates back to 2000 BC. e. This people came to the Levantine coast of the Mediterranean Sea, where a narrow strip of land, fenced by a mountain range, stretched along the sea 200 km long and 15 to 50 km wide. Today this territory is divided between Syria and Lebanon.

In some places, mountain ranges approached the sea directly and made it difficult for land movements between the settlements that arose on the coast. It was easier for people to communicate by sea. The cedar forests that covered the slopes of the mountains were the main wealth of the country. Cedar was the best material for building ships, and the Phoenicians built them both for themselves and for sale. On their ships they also exported cedar trunks. For example, an inscription found in Egypt, written on a stone slab around the 3rd thousand years BC. e., indicates that forty ships filled with cedar forest arrived in Egypt from Phenicia.

These people were inquisitive and perceptive. They adopted a lot of useful skills from the ancient Sumerians and the Cretans. And first of all, they learned to build ships from wood with a keel and frame, learned to navigate by the North Star, and knew the basics of navigation. At its peak, Phenicia was connected with virtually all parts of the world known to the ancient world. They were guided by the information about the earth that became the property of mankind only 2.5 thousand years later, at the time of the Great Geographical Discoveries.

Phoenician helmsmen made a contribution to marine science by introducing the division of the horizon into 360°, and they also compiled reliable celestial reference points for sailors.

More important than cedar and shipbuilding technology for human civilization was the spread by the Phoenicians of the alphabet that they are believed to have created. Linear writing also originated in Phenicia around 1500 BC. e. and gradually replaced all other forms of writing. Cyrillic, Latin, Arabic and Hebrew letters originate from the Phoenician alphabet. Historians believe that without alphabetic writing the development of world writing, science and literature would have been impossible. It was the Phoenician sailors who spread both the alphabet and linear writing throughout the ancient world.

The Phoenicians adopted the skills of building ships with a keel, capable of sea voyages, from the Cretans and from the “peoples of the sea”, who around 1200 BC. e. began to move from Europe, and already had the skills of shipbuilding and navigation. Over time, they became the best shipbuilders and sailors. Their sailing ships and galleys, which had a keel, were reliable and beautiful. The Phoenicians were considered the best sailors of their time, and many ancient states often used them as mercenaries.

At the beginning of the 11th century BC. e. the inhabitants of the Levant sailed on single-masted boats with a large square sail with high stems, controlled by a steering oar. The sides were connected by a deck on which merchants kept their goods. At first they sailed mainly along the rivers - the Tigris, Euphrates, Nile, but then they mastered the Persian Gulf, the Red and Mediterranean seas. They also went beyond Gibraltar, reached the British and Canary Islands, and the coast of India.

36 km from the Phoenician coast lies the island of Cyprus - the first of many beautiful harbors on a convenient sea route that runs along the Mediterranean Sea.

The ancient Phoenicians were apparently the first among the peoples of the Mediterranean countries to go out to the open sea. The sailing ships of the Phoenicians, intended for the transportation of goods, were famous far beyond the borders of their homeland, were distinguished by good seaworthiness and were considered the best ships of that time. Back in the 4th millennium BC. e. Phenicia conducted maritime trade with Egypt and Mesopotamia, where, in addition to general goods, construction and mast timber for the construction of ships was exported. The Phoenicians had good trade relations with the inhabitants of the Mediterranean islands.

In the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. The Phoenicians established a number of colonies in the Mediterranean basin. The voyage around Africa by order of the Egyptian pharaoh Necho (approximately the 4th century BC) began in the Red Sea, and three years later, having overcome the Indian and Atlantic oceans, the Phoenicians reached the Pillars of Hercules (Strait of Gibraltar) and returned to Egypt. The Phoenicians were considered the best shipbuilders in ancient times. Greek historian Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BC. e., writes that among the ships of the entire Persian fleet, “the ships delivered by the Phoenicians were distinguished by the best progress.”

The picture above shows a Phoenician trading ship dating back to 1500 BC. e. This is a fairly spacious vessel with powerful stems and two stern oars. Grills made of rods were attached along the sides to enclose deck cargo. The mast carried a straight sail on two curved yards. A large amphora made of baked clay was attached to the bow stem for storing drinking water.

Even in the era of the Old Kingdom, the Egyptians called one of the types of ships the “Biblic ship.” It is quite possible that the very tribal name "Phoenicians" came from the Egyptian word "fenehu", meaning "ship builder". The oldest type of Phoenician ship was a heavy ship, but very suitable for navigation, sailing mainly under sails and intended for transporting significant cargo.

When creating their empire, the Phoenicians never conquered other countries; they used economics rather than military force. Everything necessary was achieved through trade, which was carried out on their ships. They sailed not only throughout the Mediterranean, but also into the Atlantic and Indian oceans. In the XII - IX centuries BC. e. The Phoenicians founded colonies in North-West Africa, in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in Sicily, in Sardinia.

Ancient chronicles characterize them as diligent and restless trading partners, excellent businessmen, adventurous and persistent. And these people actually ruled that world. The Phoenicians monopolized maritime trade for many centuries. Their trading ships reached large sizes. For example, a merchant ship from the city of Tarsus could accommodate 500–600 people. Only in 800 BC. e. The Greeks refused the services of the Phoenicians and began to transport their goods by sea. Fearing competition and trying to remain a monopoly, the Phoenicians kept their voyage routes secret. To intimidate competitors, they came up with stories about sea horrors - about Scylla and Charybdis, about areas of the sea where the water is so thick that the ship cannot move.

Trade between Phenicia and Syria reached a high level of development, which is explained by the relatively high productivity of agriculture, the success of crafts and favorable geographical conditions. Phoenician cities were at the center of the most important trade routes connecting the countries of Western Asia with the Aegean Sea basin, with Africa and Arabia. This trade took place along land roads and sea routes. Caravans of traders moved from Asia Minor, from Mesopotamia, from Arabia, from the Red Sea and from Egypt, reaching the cities of the Phoenician coast.

One of the most important seaports of Phenicia on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea was the city of Byblos (now at this place, located 32 km from the Lebanese capital Beirut, the city of Jebeil is located), through which maritime trade went with Mesopotamia, Egypt and Crete. Goods were delivered to this port from the hinterland, and from here Phoenician ships sent them to different parts of the Mediterranean. These were a special type of vessel capable of transporting heavy construction timber, and they were called “byblos”. The busiest trade was with Egypt, where from Phenicia, in addition to cedar, resin, olive oil, metals, lapis lazuli and, possibly, slaves were brought. Byblos was the port where Egyptian papyrus was delivered. From the name of the city of Byblos, the Greeks began to call papyrus scrolls “byblos,” and from here the word “library” came from. Especially strong ropes made of papyrus were also delivered here. The papyrus, found in 1891 in Northern Egypt, tells the story of the envoy of the high priest in Thebes, dated 1080 BC. e. The envoy of the high priest Un-Amon, who spent 29 days in the harbor of Byblos, counted twenty ships that went with goods to Egypt, and 50 ships that were heading to other countries. Delivery of goods by sea was dangerous and associated with the risk of attack by pirates. Therefore, squads of archers were always sent on ships.

Having accumulated enormous wealth from trade, the rulers of port cities acquired works of art and expensive household items in Egypt. The entire Phoenician land was considered the “land of the pharaoh,” and the rulers of the cities were his officials, but they enjoyed complete freedom in internal affairs and external relations with their neighbors. The ruler of Byblos, for example, was considered an Egyptian prince and was more of an ally of the pharaoh. Scientists believe that a chain of seaports and trading posts arose between Egypt and Byblos. During excavations in the town of El Amarna near Cairo, about 400 clay tablets were found on which messages were written from the city-states of Phenicia to the rulers of the allied Egypt. It is believed that their number was more than 40.

But maritime trade reached a particularly high peak in Phenicia. Already in the 4th millennium BC. e. During the era of the Old Kingdom, the Egyptians exported many goods from Phenicia, among which olive oil and wood should be noted. Phoenician export items also included wine, cedar oil, livestock, grain, cosmetics and medical products. Forest was of absolutely exceptional importance in Phoenician trade and in the entire Phoenician economy. The mountain ranges of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, located in close proximity to the trading Phoenician cities, as well as the mountainous regions of Asia Minor, Transcaucasia, Northern and Central Syria and Palestine adjacent to Phenicia, were covered in ancient times with large forests. The significant forest wealth of these areas, abundant in cedars, Cilician and coastal pine, as well as other valuable forest species, made it possible for Phoenician traders to export large quantities of timber, especially construction and mast timber, to Egypt, as well as to Mesopotamia. One relief from the time of Seti I, which depicts Lebanese princes cutting down cedars for the Egyptian king, perfectly characterizes the Egyptians' need for wood.

The Phoenicians also exported the tree to other countries. Thus, Hiram I, king of Tire, sent cedars to the king of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah, Solomon, to build the Jerusalem temple. In the 8th century BC. e. The Phoenicians supplied timber to Assyria for King Sargon II to build his palace. Sometimes Phenicia paid tribute to the Assyrian kings in cedars.

While colonizing the lands of the natives, the Phoenicians did not allow foreigners there. If the local tribes were strong, they were paid money for the right to trade, and they subjugated the weak. Zones of devastated land were created around the colonies so that residents would not communicate with their neighbors.

The warships of the Phoenicians were narrow and light ships with one row of oars, which were built from cypress wood and fastened with copper nails. The bottoms were probably lined with copper to protect them from sea water. There were ships with 30 oars (triaconters) and 50-oars (petekonters). They began to build ships with a pointed ram. To achieve higher speed, the Phoenicians created ships on which the rowers were arranged in two, and then three, and four rows. The ratio of width and length of these ships was 1:5 or 1:8. On a ship with three tiers of oarsmen, there were 150 - 170 people at the oars, 30 people made up the crew, and 20 warriors had to conduct a boarding battle. Shields were strengthened along the side, which the Vikings later began to do. With a tailwind, the speed of such a vessel was up to 7 knots (one knot is one mile per hour, and a nautical mile is 1853 m).

Phoenician warship of the 7th century BC. e.

The Phoenicians did not have a strong navy, but built it when necessary, so later they relatively easily ceded their colonies on the coast of the Archipelago and on the Black Sea to the warlike Greeks. The Phoenicians' trading ships had a shorter hull than their warships.

The picture shows a warship from the 7th century BC. e. with two tiers of oars, the so-called bireme. It was the first double-stacked oared vessel in the world. The Phoenicians also fought on biremes in the service of the Egyptians, Assyrians and Persians, in particular with the Greeks.

The narrow, elongated body of the Phoenician bireme consisted of two floors, with the top one being given to the helmsmen and warriors. To increase the stability of the ship, the Phoenicians lowered the crinolines to the level of the main hull, placing rows of rowers there. Encased in bronze, massive, protruding like a horn, the ram was the main weapon of a narrow, high-speed bireme. The traditional detachable sail rig was used in favorable winds and was typical of the Mediterranean. The acrostable of the stern curved steeply, like the tail of a scorpion, and the balustrade of the battle area was covered with the shields of warriors mounted along the sides.

The Assyro-Phoenician warship depicted in the figure dates back to 1000 - 1500 BC. e. This is a rather narrow, tightly built ship, with smooth plating, powerful stems and velvets running along the perimeter of the ship. The deck for the warriors is raised on stands in the form of a platform. It is covered with a bulwark on which the warriors' shields were hung. Massive stern and bow oars significantly distinguished the ship from similar ships of that time. Their presence allowed the ship to change course by 180° without turning around. This significantly increased maneuverability. At one time, this arrangement of steering oars was introduced by the Kiev prince Izyaslav on his combat deck boats. In addition, in battle, these oars were firmly attached to the hull and played the role of rams.

The mast was removable. Two rows of oars allow us to classify this ship as a bireme. Its length ranged from 25 to 35 m, width 4 – 5 m.

An idea of ​​Phoenician ships is given by reliefs on the walls of Assyrian palaces and the remains of wrecked ships raised from the bottom.

In 1971, such a sunken ship was discovered off the coast of Sicily, the length of which was 25 m. The inside of its sides were lined with lead plates, and at the bottom there was stone ballast. The ratio of width and length was 1:3 or 1:4. Such a ship was moved by the force of the wind. It had a mast with a large rectangular sail, and the oars, the number of which, according to surviving images, did not exceed ten, were arranged in two tiers, apparently used when there was no wind. There were two stern oars for steering, but for maneuvering there was a small sail attached obliquely to a mast mounted on the bow. Cargo and crew quarters were below deck. Such ships moved slowly, but had a carrying capacity of up to 20 tons. Usually the transition was 40 km and took place during daylight hours. In the harbor, ships were pulled ashore by laying out guides from well-polished stones, pouring olive oil on them, and rolling the ship along them. The Phoenicians also created ships for sailing to distant countries, which had increased strength and dimensions up to 50 m in length. There is a description of such a ship in the book of the prophet Ezekiel: “All your platforms were built from Senir cypresses; they took cedar from Lebanon to make masts for you; They made your oars from the oak trees of Bashan; Your benches were made of beech wood, with frames of ivory from the islands of Chittim. Patterned fabrics from Egypt were used for your sails and served as a flag.".

During their voyages, the Phoenicians not only traded, but also absorbed all the latest inventions and discoveries of neighboring countries. Being enterprising people, they made good money by selling the things they got. But the Phoenicians themselves mastered many arts and their products were valued in many countries.

In the city of Tire, which was the largest port of Phenicia, a dry dock was built for the repair of ships. There were also numerous shipyards there. The king of Tire built an entire fleet for Solomon, which was located in the Red Sea. This fleet belonged to Israel, but all the sailors on the ships were Phoenicians. It was on these ships that the trip to the mysterious country of Ophir was made. This is what the Bible says about this campaign: “And Hiram sent on the ship of his subjects, sailors who knew the sea, with the subjects of Solomon; and they went to Ophir, and took from there four hundred and twenty talents of gold, and brought it to King Solomon.” Most scholars believe that Ophir was located between modern-day Ethiopia and Zimbabwe.

With the advent of ships capable of making long voyages, entire communities of Phoenicians began to leave their homeland and move to neighboring regions, establishing colonies there. In the XII - XI centuries BC. e. The Phoenicians established their colonies along the entire Mediterranean coast: in Asia Minor, Cyprus and Rhodes, Greece and Egypt, Malta and Sicily. The colonies did not lose contact with the metropolis and paid tribute to it.

It was not only calculation that led the Phoenicians beyond the horizon, they were also driven by a love of wandering, a thirst for novelty, excitement, adventurism, risk, and a thirst for adventure. They visited the Azores and Canary Islands, sailed to the British Isles, and circumnavigated Africa for the first time in human history. The greatest Phoenician colony in North Africa was Carthage, founded in 825 BC. e. on the shores of the Gulf of Tunis, in a spacious harbor. It originated at the narrowest point of the Mediterranean Sea, in close proximity to Sicily. The convenient location of the port city allowed it to actively develop trade with Egypt, Greece, and Italy.

Mastering the shores of Africa, the Carthaginians by the 7th century BC. e. created colonies on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, and later took possession of Spain, Sardinia, Sicily, Corsica and some islands of the Mediterranean Sea. The Carthaginians carried out several sea voyages along the western coast of Africa and the shores of Western Europe. By the 6th century BC. e. refers to the voyage of the Carthaginian king Hanno near the Atlantic coast of Africa. Hanno's fleet consisted of 50 - 60 ships, on which there were more than 30 thousand men and women. As a result of this voyage, African colonies were founded. Carthage existed until 146 BC. e., until it was destroyed by Roman troops as a result of the long Punic Wars.

In navigation, the Carthaginians used the experience of the Phoenicians. In the first half of the 1st millennium BC. e. Phoenician ships become double-decker. There are warriors on the upper deck, the sides are covered with shields. On the lower deck there are rowers in two tiers above each other. The ram on the bow is hidden under water. The Carthaginians began to build penterae. Length - 31 m, width at the waterline - 5.5 m, displacement 116 tons. 30 oars were arranged in one row. The crew consisted of 150 oarsmen, 75 infantrymen, 25 sailors. In the 3rd century BC. e. the number of such warships was 120 - 130 ships. In years of danger - up to 200 ships. Every year several thousand people were called up for retraining. In 400 BC. e. quadriremes (four-row) appeared in Carthage,

The Carthage fleet took control of the entire western region of the Mediterranean Sea. On the islands off the coast of Spain in 663 BC. e. its support bases were created, which controlled Gibraltar. Then all of southern Iberia came under the rule of Carthage. Carthaginian warships constantly cruised in this water area and blocked foreign ships from accessing the Atlantic Ocean. The Greek ships, for fear of being sunk, did not even try to approach the “Pillars of Hercules” and were forced to go for tin along the inland rivers of Europe. Only in the 4th century BC. e. this blockade was lifted.

The Carthaginians themselves successfully sailed north in search of the country of tin and the country of amber. It is known that under the command of Captain Gimilkon their ships reached the shores of southern England and Ireland. But the main object of Carthaginian expansion was the islands of the Mediterranean Sea, which were places of trade, protected from attacks for the islanders, who did not have a fleet, and the Carthaginian fleet could protect them from any attacks. Carthage later became a republic and the largest port of its time. After the collapse of the Tyrian power, he was able to subjugate the cities of Sicily, Sardinia, Malta, Spain, the Balearic Islands and North Africa. He controlled most of Cyprus, which became not only a stopover for the Carthaginians, but also the site where they discovered copper. On the island of Thasos in the Black Sea they found iron ore, which was very important, since in the 10th century BC. e. Most tools and jewelry were made of iron, which in the Bronze Age was more expensive than gold and silver.

An outstanding achievement was the voyage of the Phoenician Hanno from Carthage, who sailed along West Africa and reached the territory of what is now Cameroon. This naval commander led 60 ships, each with 50 oarsmen, and a total of 30 thousand people took part in the campaign. Hanno's report on this journey has reached us, in which he described meetings and skirmishes with the aborigines, the fauna of Africa, and the active volcano of Cameroon, which he called the “Chariot of the Gods.” The navigator is laconic and, recording the main stages of the voyage, dwells on the possible dangers that may await those who follow him.

The ancient scientist Diodorus Siculus left for history evidence of the Phoenicians visiting the islands lying “in the middle of the ocean opposite Africa.” Their description allows us to conclude that we are talking about the island of Madeira. However, many scientists believe that the Phoenicians were not discoverers, they only followed in the footsteps of their great predecessors - the Cretans. The Portuguese discovered it only in the 15th century.

The Golden Age of Phenicia lasted almost three centuries - from 1150 to 850 BC. e. The latest achievement of the great shipbuilders of antiquity was the largest ship, which had a keel made of Lebanese cedar 40 m long, and the rowers were located on it in 11 rows. In total there were 1800 slaves at the oars.

Around 525 BC e. The Carthaginians provided their fleet to the Persian Empire that subjugated them to fight Egypt. Thanks to this help, the Persians conquered Egypt and the Greek colonies in North Africa. This service turned the Phoenicians into allies of the Persians, ensured their independence, and also squeezed out Greek trade to their advantage. Later, Phoenician ships formed the backbone of the Persian fleet. In 480 BC. e. During the campaign of King Xerxes, there were 1207 Phoenician ships under his command.

Rome became Carthage's rival. Realizing that it was possible to crush the power of Carthage only by building their warships, the Romans began to build a fleet. In battles with the Phoenicians, they were repeatedly defeated, losing almost their entire built fleet, but they constantly improved both shipbuilding and the art of naval combat. In 241 BC. e. The Romans made a decisive attempt to break the power of Carthage. The authorities of Rome appealed to citizens to build ships at their own expense, provided that the costs would be reimbursed after the victory. If defeat follows, then not only the ships will perish, but also Rome itself. Wealthy citizens of the city pooled all their funds and again built a fleet. The careless Carthaginians did not expect to meet Roman ships, and the surprise attack led to their complete defeat.

Carthage lost its monopoly on the Mediterranean. The indemnity payment for ten years amounted to 3,200 talents. (1 talent – ​​$30,000). Carthage lost both its army and navy. And Rome became a world power. In 146 BC. e. The Romans burned Carthage to the ground. The hatred of Carthage, which was their constant rival, was so deep that, having razed the city to the ground, they covered the place with salt so that nothing could grow there.

With the fall of Carthage, all information about voyages and descriptions of open lands were destroyed by the Romans. As a result, the coasts of Central, Eastern and Southern Africa turned into a solid white spot for Europeans for one and a half thousand years, and only in the 15th century did they dare to follow the path of the Phoenicians to the equator along the western shores. After the collapse of the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD. e. Phenicia, previously subject to Rome, became part of Byzantium.

Ancient China

Water transport has traditionally played a leading role in the Chinese economy, especially in the South. The main transport arteries of the country were, of course, its two largest rivers - the Yellow River and the Yangtze. Although there are many other navigable rivers in China (Huaihe and others), they usually flow from west to east. The lack of a reliable waterway in the north-south direction hindered the development of economic relations within the country. Therefore, the Chinese had a need for transport channels.

The world's first contour (using the terrain) Magic Canal, 32 km long, was built in China in the 3rd century BC. e. The author of this unique hydraulic structure was the engineer Shi Lu, who built it by order of Emperor Qin Shihuang. The construction of the canal was caused by the need to supply troops transferred in 219 BC. e. to the south of the country to conquer the Yue people. The canal is unusual in that it connects two rivers flowing in opposite directions. The difficulty in constructing the canal was that the Xiang River, originating in the Haiyan Mountains, flows to the north, and the Li River to the south. Both rivers are characterized by rapid currents, so along the Xiang River it was necessary to build a bypass channel 2.4 km long for the passage of ships with a lower drop in the bed than that of the river. To ensure navigation, the waters of the Li River were diverted into another 22 km long canal. Having tamed both rivers in this way, the builders were finally able to connect them with a 5 km long canal. A dam was built across the Xiang River, dividing the channel into two streams - large and small, and most of it was diverted to the side. Spillways were installed behind the embankment. In the Sinani area, several bridges were built across the canal, which was 1 m deep and 4.5 m wide. Thanks to the system of weirs and stream separation, only a third of the Xiang River's water flowed into the connecting canal, and it did not overflow. Year-round navigation along inland waterways with a total length of 2 thousand km (from the 40th to the 22nd parallel) became possible. Barges thus reached from the latitude of Beijing, located in the north of the country, to Canton (Guangzhou) and to the sea in the south (to where Hong Kong is now located). The Magic Canal became the connecting link in this system of Chinese rivers. By the 9th century, 18 locks had been built on it, and in the 10th – 11th centuries the number of people required to tow barges decreased. The magic channel began to be called sacred, and the dragon was considered its guardian. The canal continues to operate today; a railway bridge of a modern design has been built across it.

On the Magic Channel

Another ancient structure created by the labor of the Chinese people is the Grand or Imperial Canal. The Chinese Grand Canal is the oldest and longest artificial river in the world. The beginning of the construction of the Grand Canal should be considered the period of Spring and Autumn, which is more than 2400 years away from us. The ruler of the Principality of Wu in southeastern China, pursuing the goal of moving north in order to gradually take possession of the Central Plain, decided to dig a canal north of the Yangtze. A large number of troops and population were mobilized for its construction; as a result, a 150-kilometer canal was dug near Yangzhou (now Jiangsu province), connecting the Yangtze with the Huaihe River. This is the earliest section of the Grand Canal.

The second stage of large-scale construction on the Grand Canal route dates back to 605 - 610 years. The then reigning Sui Emperor Yang-di, in order to strengthen his power and strengthen control over the rich areas south of the Yangtze, undertook the construction of a canal from the capital Luoyang (present-day city of Luoyang, Henan Province) in two directions: north to Zhuojun (southeast of present-day Beijing) and south to Yuhan (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province).

Several million people were gathered at different times to build the canal. The total length of the new waterway was about 2,500 km.

During the Yuan Dynasty, Beijing (Beijing) became the capital of China. The political center moved from the Central Plain to the north, but the area of ​​the Yangtze and Huaihe basins remained the focus of financial and economic activity. Transporting grain from the southern regions to Beijing by the circuitous waterway through Luoyang was fraught with great inconvenience. Therefore, around 1283, the third large-scale construction in history was undertaken along the Grand Canal route. The direction of the route was changed, the section of the canal between the Haihe, Yellow and Huaihe rivers was straightened. Thus, it became possible to travel directly from Beijing via the Grand Canal to Hangzhou.

Sections of the Great China Canal

Today Great Chinese Canal stretches almost 1800 km, which is 10 times longer than the Suez Canal and 20 times larger than the Panama Canal.

After the change in the course of the Yellow River, insufficient water supply to the site in Shandong province led to shallowing and the cessation of South-North water transport. Today, the entire length of the Grand Canal can no longer be used, but parts of it, especially in the Hangzhou and Suzhou areas, continue to serve as an important waterway.

Many sections of the Beijing–Hangzhou canal use former natural rivers and lakes, while some sections are artificial. The main amount of water in the canal comes from natural rivers.

The purpose of the canal today is transport, irrigation, recreation, water supply. It passes through the territory of 6 provinces and connects five river systems (Haihe, Yellow, Yellow River, Yangtze and Kwaitanyang).

The total length of ship passages on the canal is 1027 km, of which approximately 600 km are of classes 2 and 3. Reconstruction of the canal is ongoing. According to the report of the Ministry of Communications of the People's Republic of China for the five-year period 1996–2000, two sections were reconstructed, with a length of 164 and 293 km in the southeast of the country. At the same time, 8 ports were expanded, 8 locks were built and 58 bridges were rebuilt. This made it possible to increase the annual transit of goods by 16.5 million tons. The annual volume of water transport in the provinces of Jangsu and Shiyang has reached 260 million tons. After reconstruction, the southern sections of the Grand Canal received an international award as “the most civilized models of ship passages.” In addition to economic benefits, the canal has significantly improved the situation with flood control measures, field irrigation and tourism development, as well as with ecology and environmental protection.

Since ancient times, the Chinese have been building rafts to navigate rivers and canals, having convenient and high-quality material at hand - giant bamboo. Its stems reach a height of 24–25 m and a diameter of up to 30 cm. Masts and sails were also made from bamboo. Such rafts were cargo ships with a shallow draft: with a load of up to seven tons, the rafts are immersed in water by only 5–7 cm, that is, navigation on such rafts is possible in shallow waters inaccessible to ordinary ships.

Various types of Ming era ships.

A type of flat-bottomed boat about 10 meters long with a canopy, deck, mast with a rectangular sail and a small room in the hold has long been common on Chinese rivers. In European literature it is usually called a junk (the word is of Malay origin). Such boats - spacious, stable and at the same time having high maneuverability - were used mainly for transporting goods. If necessary, the sides of the junk were covered with boards, and the cracks between them were sealed with a mixture of tung oil and lime. The design of the junk is so rational that it has existed almost unchanged to this day.

There were also large cargo ships in China, reaching a length of 30 meters or more. They were usually used to transport grain. Already by the turn of the new era, the ancient Chinese knew how to build double-decker ships; in subsequent centuries, ships with three or more masts and steering gear appeared in China. Large junks also served as passenger ships on the rivers and lakes of China. Large ships often had lifeboats and oars in case of calm weather.

Chinese junk, photo 1871

Sails and control oars were used to move the ships. The sails were made from bamboo planks and mats between them. Such sails were quite tight, which was important from an aerodynamic point of view, but they could be rolled up and also partially deployed (which is important in windy, stormy weather).

In addition to this, sails made of bamboo planks and mats had the advantage that they could function in many holes and breaches. To control the movement, an oar was used, held at an angle at the stern.

Chinese junk

In addition to square sails, the Chinese used ear-shaped sails, or “luggers.” Longitudinal ear-like sails have existed since the 2nd century AD. e. Ships with such sails could carry 700 people and 260 tons of cargo. Chinese ships were multi-masted.

There were several types of sea vessels in China. The most common were flat-bottomed, so-called sand ships (sha chuan), as well as “Fujian ships” (fu chuan) and “bird ships” (niao chuan), the elongated bow and stern of which gave their appearance a resemblance to a bird. Unlike flat-bottomed river vessels designed for shallow waters, these ships had a rounded bottom and a high deck, which made them faster and more maneuverable (but less stable). The displacement of sea vessels was usually 500 - 800 tons.

For the first time in China, paddle wheels were used to propel ships. The first mention of them dates back to 418. The paddle wheels on ships were driven by special people using foot pedals. The decks were closed and the opponents, seeing that a ship without sails was moving on them, were horrified, believing that the ship was being moved by demons. However, such vessels were not adapted for navigation at sea and were used only on rivers and lakes. Control was carried out due to different speeds of rotation of the wheels from different sides. Very large ships with paddle wheels were built, for example, a 100-ton warship with 12 wheels is known to have been built in 1168.

Modern Chinese junk with luggers

Subsequently, ships were built with more wheels. Such ships could carry up to 800 people. There were up to 200 sailors turning the wheels.

Marble boat with paddle wheels

To transport goods along the Grand Canal, long narrow barges were built, movably coupled in pairs. When crossing the shoal, these barges were separated.

Trailed barge from the late 16th century, loaded with mines

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome, founded in 753 BC. e., was regularly subject to floods from floods of the Tiber River. According to the ancient Roman historian Tacitus, the Roman Senate in 15 AD discussed the issue of protecting Rome from floods. In 46, under Emperor Claudius, a canal was built that connected the Tiber with the sea, bypassing the bend of the river. The canal reduced the length of the shipping lane, increased the channel's throughput and thereby reduced the rise in flood levels. The canal was reconstructed under the Roman emperor Trajan (53 - 117) and was named Fossa Trajana (Trajan's Canal). It still exists under the name Fiumicino.

During the period of Ancient Rome, the ports of Ostia, Missilia, Bordeaux and others were built, testifying to the high technical culture of the Romans. Their layout was similar to modern ports. Some ports were built at the mouths of rivers flowing into the sea and did not have a protective harbor. Merchant ships were often unable to enter the river because of the shallow waters and would anchor in the sea, transferring goods to river boats that went up the river. In 42, under Emperor Claudius, the Roman port of Ostia was rebuilt: the harbor was fenced off from the sea with two side dams, an island was built at the entrance to the harbor: a large ship was sunk and an island was built, with a lighthouse on it. Later, under Trajan, the port was expanded: a pool was dug in the shape of a regular hexagon with a side of 460 m and a depth of 6 m and retaining walls were erected. This basin was connected to Trajan's Canal.

Below are images of Roman merchant ships and warships.

Let us recall that the names of oared ships are related to the number of rows of oars:

two rows of oars - bireme;

three rows of oars - trireme or trireme;

five rows of oars - pentera or pentekotera.

Roman bireme

The reconstruction of the ship was carried out based on a bas-relief in the Temple of Fortune in Praeneste, dating back to the end of the 2nd century BC. e. A characteristic feature of the vessel is a narrow crinoline-parados, which served not to accommodate the rowers, but to protect the sides. The ornamental decoration of the stem included clips for spears. Above the metal ram, the stem line has an internal deflection, and then smoothly protrudes forward and turns into a massive acrostole, decorated with a peculiar ornament. The bulwark, located along the entire length of the bireme, had open passages in the bow and stern. A place was allocated for the military commander under a light awning-tent at the stern. In the bow there was a tower for slingers and a raven boarding ladder, characteristic of Roman warships. This type of bireme is a purely rowing vessel, propelled by 88 oars.

Roman trireme (trireme)

Trireme (trireme) is the main type of warship in the Mediterranean. Some researchers attribute the invention of the trireme to the Phoenicians, others name the Corinthian Amenokka. The main weapon of the trireme was the ram - an extension of the keel beam. The vessel's displacement reached 230 tons, length - 45 m. The oars on the triremes were of different lengths. The strongest rowers were located on the upper deck. The speed of the trireme on oars was 7–8 knots, but all three rows of oars worked only during the battle. Even with slight seas, the lower row of oars was pulled into the ship, and the oar ports were tightened with leather patches. The sailing rig consisted of a large rectangular sail and a small one (artemon) on an inclined mast in the bow of the ship. The masts were made removable and removed during the battle. During the battle, the triremes tried to develop maximum speed, hit the enemy’s side with a ram, deprive him of his speed, breaking his oars, and “fell” on board.

Roman penthera (pentecotera)

Warships with five rows of oars - pentera - were introduced into the Roman navy before the 1st Punic War (264 - 241 BC) due to the fact that the Carthaginians already possessed multi-tiered heavy ships, the side of which was protected by a whole with a forest of oars, it was inaccessible to the ramming blow of the relatively light Roman biremes. In a short time, Rome introduced 120 such ships into its fleet. Each oar was controlled by one oarsman, the number of oars in one row reached 25. The length of the pentera was about 45 m, and the total number of oars reached 250.

The rowers of the third and fourth upper rows were placed in a closed crinoline - parodos, and those of the lower tier - one above the other in the hull of the ship. Coordinated rowing with such a large number of oars was achieved by connecting the oars of one row with a common rope and using stops that limited the size of the stroke.

The bow and stern of the pentera were decorated with an acrostole (an extension of the stems). The stern part of the ship was surrounded by a hanging gallery with a balustrade, under which the boat was usually suspended. Penters had two masts with combat tops. The sailing rig consisted of large straight sails, used only during passages with favorable winds.

It is known that ships with six or more rows of oars were created. Thus, in Hercules Pontic, located on the southern shore of the Black Sea, in the 3rd century BC. e. The Greeks built the ship "Leontopher" with eight rows of oars on each side - octera. There were 100 rowers in each row. Thus, this ship could have had 1,600 oarsmen and another 1,200 warriors.

In Syracuse (Ancient Egypt) under Ptolemy IV Philopator (about 200 BC), a tessarocontera was built - a ship with 40 rows of oars. Its length was 125 m, the height of the top of the side was 22 m, and to the highest point of the ship was 26.5 m. The largest oars on the ship were 19 m long; lead was poured into their handles for balancing. On this ship there were 4 thousand oarsmen, 400 other crew members and 3 thousand soldiers. The speed of this ship was up to 7.5 km/h.

The development of river cargo transportation in Russia is determined by the world's largest network of interconnected waterways. Do not forget about the harsh climatic conditions. Some regions can be reached either by air or by sea.

Statistics

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In terms of the volume of cargo movement along rivers and lakes, it is difficult for water transport to compete with road and rail transportation. But the specifics of cargo and the relative cheapness leave the share of such movements almost constant.

Among such cargo in Russia, the most prominent is the transportation of bulk cargo - grain, sand, as well as consolidated cargo for delivery to hard-to-reach places. River delivery also acts as an element

The developed infrastructure of river navigation includes 130 ports on rivers and lakes, and the length of routes exceeds 100 thousand km.

But so far there has been no increase in the mass of transported cargo. Against the backdrop of a general decline in cargo flow after 2014, the share of cargo transported via inland waterways suffered somewhat, which is noticeable from the figures in the table (in comparison with other types).

Table 1. Volume of cargo transportation over the past five years, million tons.

Despite all the attractiveness, the country has allowed a decline in the volume of movement of goods and cargo, which leaves prospects for the development of the segment as a whole. In the modern period, the share of transportation by water transport has fallen to less than 2% - only 1.38%.

Water transport is even less important when considering the movement of goods expressed in ton-kilometers (in the diagram). Index freight transport in tonne-kilometers (as of 2016):

An indicator of 1% (about 67 ton-kilometers) is understandable given the small carrying capacity of river barges and ships, as well as the limited movement of goods.

The largest share in the transportation of goods by river is demonstrated by the following networks of waterways in the country:

1. West Siberian network.
2. Volga-Kama basin.
3. North-West region.

Despite the generally optimistic figures, analysts point to a decline in the variety of cargo delivered. In some regions, cargo traffic has decreased to the banal transportation of sand.

Kinds

Practice water transport provides for the use of vessels only for movement within the inland waterway, as well as for entering mixed types of rivers from sea waters.

Internal freight flows also have several types of transportation, taking into account the geography of delivery and the type of transport used.

The following main types are distinguished:

1. Inland water communication. Carried out within the same shipping company.
2. Direct inland water movement of goods. Carried out between two or more shipping companies, including using shipping companies of the CIS countries.
3. Direct water communication. It implies the participation of river and sea transport within one country.
4. Direct mixed movement of goods. It is organized on the principle of multimodality, using related modes of transport.

The variety of river transportation increases even more when considering the size of the cargo consignment and the type of valuables being transported.

Facilities

A complete classification is impossible without presenting the entire variety of means of transporting goods.

In the river shipping segment there are:

1. Bulk carrier or dry cargo ship. A vessel designed for – sand, grain, ore. Easily recognizable by the presence of unloading hatches.
2. Tankers. Designed not only for transporting bulk minerals - petroleum products, liquefied gas, but also vegetable liquids - oils.
3. Roller skates. Vessels for the transportation of moving cargo capable of self-loading - vehicles, wagons. This also includes
4. Container ships. Designed for placing and delivering packaged goods into a container, and do not require complex loading and unloading operations.

These and some other types of vessels, along with the purpose of accommodating luggage or passengers, have a classification aimed at allowing movement under various conditions. Some information is given in the table.

Table 2. Classes of river vessels.

Along with large ships, we should not forget about the “port workers” - tugs, oyster ships, as well as passenger transport. IN separate category barges intended to be moved in conjunction with a tractor should be considered.

Legal regulation of domestic and international flights

The main strategic document for the development of river navigation is called the “Strategy…. until 2030."

But the documents regulating cargo transportation have been in force for a long time. These include:

1. (status of Federal law). Last modified 12/29/1017
2. Rules for transportation by water transport ().
3. Russian River Register (Rules in several volumes).

In addition, in the organization of river navigation, related regulations, as an administrative code, transportation rules dangerous goods. Also, do not forget about the document under the auspices of the UN - “European Shipping Rules”, reissued in 2007.

Delivery rules

In organizing the transportation of cargo items, there are several groups that are subject to the Rules and other regulatory documents:

• vehicle requirements;
• requirements for the product itself, including packaging and support;
• appropriate qualifications of personnel.

All positions are aimed at ensuring transportation safety and meeting deadlines for order delivery.

Among the main requirements for ships are:

• checking the serviceability of the vessel and permission to work on the route is carried out before loading;
• cleanliness on the ship - cleaning of all premises, including working and utility rooms, is carried out in advance;
• checking the condition of areas for placing cargo, securing it, and when transporting dangerous goods, also marking it taking into account the requirements.

Among the main requirements for cargo placement are:

• maintaining local and general stability and integrity of the vessel;
• fastening means must be in good working order and available in sufficient quantities;
• During the process of loading, transportation, and unloading, the placement and stability of the cargo is controlled;
• When placing goods, allowable proximity (compatibility) is taken into account, taking into account the class of cargo.

In most cases, ship personnel are allowed to accompany cargo. However, for example, when transporting animals, a permanent guide is required to monitor the condition of the transported object.

The qualifications of ship personnel must correspond to the work performed. The availability of permitting documents should first be verified by the customer to perform the work.

Documentation

Correct design material assets before departure by river transport is no less important than placement on the ship.

On initial stage an agreement is drawn up that formalizes the relationship between:

• customer;
• transport company;
• if necessary, by the recipient of the goods.

The main subjects of the agreement are:

1. The cargo itself: name, quantity, transportation features.
2. Obligations of the parties: loading, transportation, unloading.
3. Points of departure, unloading, and, if necessary, storage of goods.
4. Delivery times and procedure for accepting material assets.
5. Deadlines for fulfilling contractual obligations and violation of the terms of service.

The main shipping document is the waybill.

Depending on the route and method of organizing cargo delivery, there are several types of these documents:

• GU-1 – for transportation of dry cargo ships in direct domestic traffic;
• GU-2 for container transportation;
• GU-3 transportation of bulk oil;
• GU-7 (7a) - for transporting goods by water-railway, or only by water, in direct mixed traffic.

To document all actions en route with cargo, a road manifest is prepared. The document has an internal, travel and financial-accounting part, where the necessary information from the invoice is entered.

River transportation of goods along the Volga

The demand for river transportation along the Volga is associated with a wide geography of supplies. If necessary, it will be possible to connect Ust-Luga with Taganrog or Astrakhan. All major ones associate themselves with the Volga route.

River transportation along the Volga connects 7 republics and more than 15 industrial regions of Russia - with a route length of more than 6.8 thousand km. This became possible thanks to artificial and natural crossings of the Volga with other water systems.

The seas are connected in one ring - the Baltic, Black and Azov, White, Caspian. This allows you to move a wide variety of loads at low cost. For example, in 2017, the ships of Volga Shipping Company JSC alone transported more than 6.5 million tons of cargo.

The specifics of transportation in the Volga water system are associated with the following features:

1. Link of river network: Volga, Oka, Moscow river.
2. Availability of large waterworks: Rybinsk, Yaroslavl, Kaluga, Moscow, Kostroma.
3. Use of transshipment bases and ports: Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Kolomna, Serpukhov.

Using the shipping capabilities of the Volga basin, the following are transported:

• 8/10 wood for the central region;
• 8/10 salt (from Baskunchak);
• Volga region agricultural crops;
• coal and cement for the construction industry and heavy industry.

Companies

When choosing a carrier for delivering cargo by water river transport, you should always trust a company that has a valid license.

Typically, such organizations offer comprehensive services, starting with documentation, and ending with the development and approval of the route.
The most prominent organizations on the market are summarized in a table.

Table 3. Carrier companies in river shipping in Russia.

When choosing a company for transporting material assets, you should pay attention to the presence of its own fleet of ships and valid contracts with carriers. A permanent representative of the river transportation market is ready to offer preliminary prices for services on its own information resource.

For example, many of River Transportation LLC in different cities have only legal address, and do not provide sufficient information about their activities.

Tariffs for cargo delivery by water

The cost of freight transportation by river transport is formed taking into account the following features:

• travelable distance between loading and unloading points;
• characteristics of the cargo;
• time of year.

Today, most companies form orders based on the client’s preliminary application. On average, the estimated delivery cost is equal to from 60 to 100 rubles for delivery 1 kg depending on the region.

Advantages and disadvantages

Among the positive features of freight transportation by river fleet, the following should be noted:

• relatively low delivery costs;
• wide opportunity in selecting transport for various cargoes;
• the ability to plan timing and choose between sea and river delivery.

Among the disadvantages are:

1. Low delivery speed. The exception is that there is no alternative to river transport for some regions.
2. Fundamental requirements for safety and environmental friendliness. will not only entail severe penalties for the carrier, but also serious environmental consequences.
3. Limitation of navigation periods. In some regions, the shipping period does not exceed 120 days a year.

- barges are flat ships that are designed to transport large and heavy loads mainly along canals and rivers. For the most part, a barge cannot move independently, and therefore it needs a tug. Even at the beginning of the industrial revolution, barges were transported with the help of people or special animals used on a par with railway transport. After some time, the barges left the race due to the labor intensity, as well as the high cost of transportation.

The infrastructure serving water transport includes docks, ports, shipyards and piers. In ports, cargo is loaded and unloaded onto ships, technical inspection of water transport is carried out at the dock, and repairs to watercraft also take place there.