Technical committee for waterways and ports (FA BwsH)

A joint committee of VBW and Hafentechnische Gesellschaft (HTG)

Members

To the list of committee members

Aims and Tasks

• Recording of the performance of all waterways and inland ports
• Representation of the potential uses and importance of waterways and ports for transport industry
• Representation of the economic importance
• Description of the multipurpose functions of waterways transport on their political importance also for ecology, water and energy sectors and for tourism and leisure
• Analysis and proposals to remove weaknesses of the infrastructure
• Suggestions for further development of the infrastructure of waterways and ports
• Suggestions to speed up traffic flow
• Proposals for the development of inland waterways in its network function

To this end, the Technical Committee examines a.o. the

• Competitive position of inland waterway transport
• Factors influencing the performance of the waterways and ports
• Assignment of vessel sizes to waterway classes
• Travel times on waterways
• Design and equipment of the buildings on waterways
• Information and communication services on and for waterways and ports
• Conditions for container transport on inland waterways
• Capacity of infrastructure networks
• Services of transport channels
• Traffic safety and the transportation of dangerous goods, including a comparison of transport modes

Structure and work methods

The members of the Technical Committee represent different fields, e.g.:

• Inland shipping industry
• Shippers
• Management and Science
• Inland Ports

Previous committee chairmen:
1977 bis 1987: Professor Dr.-Ing. Martin Hager
1988 bis 1993: Dipl.-Ing. Raymund Hinricher
1993 bis 1995: Professor Dipl.-Ing. Dierk Schröder
1995 bis 1998: Dipl.-Ing. Claus Rost
1998 bis 2005: Dr.-Ing. Hans-Gerhard Knieß

Establishment of the Technical Committee: 1977

The Technical Committee meets twice a year.

It both takes up current problems in the practice and initiates and tracks new developments. The results of the work of the Technical Committee shall be presented to professionals and the interested public in annual reports, on events as well as in publications of the VBW.

Work results

The Technical Committee has developped resp. prepared the following publications:

• Collection of data and facts to illustrate the power of the inland navigation and its importance for the transport industry with the chapters
  - The inland waterway network and dimensional, hydro-mechanical and nautical boundary conditions of the waterways and ports (FA BwsH)
  - The fleet, enterprises and employees in inland waterways (FA VkW)
  - The performance and efficiency of inland navigation (FA VkW)
  - The environmentally friendly modes of inland water transport (FA VkW)
  - The efficiency of the inland ports (FA VkW)
• Driving times of inland vessels
• Assignment of vessel sizes to waterway classes
• Adequate lock operating times
• Suitability of inland waterways for container transport *)
• Waterways and inland navigation in comparison to rail and road transport *)
• Dynamics of inland navigation vessels (with FA Binsch)
• The inland waterways of the Federal Republic of Germany *)
• The ports in the Federal Republic of Germany and neighboring countries *)
• Habitat waterway
• The Computer Looks to the Future - Telematics in inland waterway transport
• "The ports in the Federal Republic of Germany and other European countries" as a PDF file (207 kB)

*) These publications can be obtained from:
Binnenschiffahrts-Verlag GmbH
Dammstr. 15-17
47119 Duisburg (Ruhrort)
Phone: 0203/80006-20/-40 – Fax: 0203/80006-21
E-Mail: info@binnenschiffahrts-verlag.de

Projects

The TC currently provides a priority in the subsequent issues, which it accordingly - sometimes in ad-hoc working-groups - pays special attention to:

• Energy-saving motors
• Reduce fuel consumption
• Use of alternative and renewable energies
• Self-(un)loading equipment
• Interaction between ship and terminal
• Extension of maintenance intervals
• Reduction of pollutant and noise emissionsv
• Suitability for driving on specific waterways
• Interaction Ship - Waterway