The rivers of Europe are major international waterways. Waterways of Europe

Features of the development of inland waterways in Europe

I. I. Eglit,

doc. tech. Sciences, Head of the Department of Transport Systems Management, State University of Maritime and River Fleet (GUMRF) named after. adm. S. O. Makarova

A. V. Galin,

Ph.D. tech. Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Transport Systems Management of the State University of Moldova and Russian Federation named after. adm. S. O. Makarova

The intensive functioning of water transport can significantly reduce the load on the country's overall transport network. Western European experience shows how river vessels can be effectively used for the ongoing scheduled transportation of goods.

Europe's inland waterways (IWWs) play a significant role in the European transport system. This is explained by the fact that water transportation is quite cheap, reliable, safe and environmentally friendly, which meets the wishes of cargo owners and governments of European countries. Inland waterway transport (IWT) also plays a positive role at the global level, connecting European countries and taking part in international trade. However, despite all the positive factors, its development is not occurring at a faster pace than other modes of transport.

The structure of Europe's GDP consists of four main corridors:

The Rhine as the main corridor connecting the port cluster of Northern Europe with the hinterland;

North-South corridor, including

includes rivers and canals in the Netherlands, Belgium and France;

Eastern Corridor, covering GDP from Germany to Poland and the Czech Republic;

The south-eastern corridor, which includes the Danube, Main and the Main-Danube and Danube-Black Sea canals.

Rhine corridor

Among all European countries, the Netherlands has the densest GDP network. It contains the deltas of the Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt rivers. The total length of the Dutch GDP is about 5200 km. The Waal River, connecting the Rhine and the port of Rotterdam, is the most important part of the Dutch GDP.

Waterways have played a vital role in transport in the Netherlands for many years. Of all cargo crossing the Dutch border, more than 60% is transported by barge. In 2010 this type of transport

Table 1. Transportation of goods by various modes of transport in Western Europe, million ton-km

1980 1990 2000 2010

Motor transport 423 653.8 1023 1269.2

Railway transport 292.5 269.3 254 246

GDP 107.7 115.4 115.4 123

Total 823.8 1028.5 1392.4 1638

More than 234 million tons of cargo were transported, of which 42% were domestic cargo, 49% were export/import cargo and 9% were transit.

From Dutch ports (Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Flushing), numerous service lines deliver cargo along the Rhine to inland terminals. They play the role of a kind of river shuttles, connecting ports not only with the Netherlands, but also with German, Belgian, French and Austrian inland terminals. Cargo turnover with Belgian and German terminals is especially intense; 67% of the Netherlands' arms and military transport operates in this direction.

German GDP includes about 7,500 km of waterways that connect seaports with the most developed hinterlands and industrial centers of the country. In fact, 56 of the 74 major German production centers are connected to each other and to the sea by river transport.

Of the total amount of cargo transported, 20% accounts for GDP, which is comparable to transportation by rail. In 2010, 229 million tons were transported across Germany's GDP: 30% - domestic cargo, 10% - transit and 60% - import-export cargo. The main waterway of Germany is also the Rhine, through which two-thirds of the volume of cargo transported by GDP passes. Bulk cargo is the main cargo transported by water transport, accounting for 88%, but recently there has been a noticeable increase in containerized cargo. In 2010, approximately 750,000 TEi were transported across Germany's GDP, which is 14% more than in 1998.

North-South corridor

The Scheldt River is actively used in the north-south direction between the Netherlands and Belgium, connecting the two main ports of Europe - Rotterdam and Antwerp. The Meuse River connects the Dutch industrial areas and cities in eastern Belgium and northern France. On in this direction about 32% works

barge transport in the Netherlands.

The Belgian GDP represents about 1513 km of waterways. Almost all major centers in Belgium are connected by a system of waterways (Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Liege, etc.). The waterways passing through Belgium form the bulk of the trans-European water system, these include the Albert Canal, the Ghent-Terneuzen Canal, the Scheldt-Rhine connection, the Brussels Canal and the Scheldt.

The cargo turnover of Belgium's GDP in 2001 amounted to 120 million tons: 12% - domestic cargo turnover, 12% - transit, 32% - export cargo and 44% - import cargo. As elsewhere, the main type of cargo transported by GDP is bulk cargo, but there is also a noticeable increase in container traffic, which amounts to 15%. In total, Belgium's GDP transports about 20% of the total volume of cargo.

In France, the GDP network is most actively used east of the Le Havre - Marseille line, where the main navigation canals and rivers are located. In terms of cargo turnover, France's GDP lags significantly behind the GDP of countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. The characteristics of the main rivers and canals of France allow the use of only small vessels, the length of which is 38.5 m, width - 5.5 m (respectively, with a carrying capacity of 250,350 tons depending on draft). Only a small part of the internal routes is suitable for the operation of ships with a carrying capacity of 3000 tons. They are concentrated mainly in the north-west of the country: Rhine and Rhone, Seine (from Le Havre to Paris), Moselle (from Nancy to the German border). The total volume of cargo transported by arms and military equipment in France in 2010 amounted to 56.57 million tons.

Eastern corridor

Since the beginning of the 90s of the last century, the volume of trade and turnover between Poland and Western Europe has increased significantly. This was mainly due to road and rail transport. IWT participation

in commodity circulation is small, Poland's GDP is connected through the Mittelland Canal and the Elbe with the water system of Western Europe. The Order River, the border between Poland and Germany, can be seen as the south-north axis of the water system. The Warta River represents an east-west axis and connects Berlin with the industrial centers of Poznan and Warsaw. Through the system of Polish rivers, Western Europe is connected to the Dnieper. Polish waterways are generally shallow and allow the use of vessels with a draft of no more than 2.5 m.

The Czech Republic has about 300 km of GDP suitable for transporting goods. These include part of the Laba (Elbe) river with the Vltava tributary, which are also connected by several canals. The average depth of the rivers is 1.8-2.5 m. There are plans to make the Morava River navigable and connect it with the Danube.

The volume of transportation by GDP is small and amounts to 1.3 million tons per year, which is approximately 8.5% of cargo turnover.

Southeast corridor

The Danube has always played an important role in the water system of Central and Southern Europe. Originating in Austria and following through many countries, the river flows into the Black Sea. In 1992, a canal connected a tributary of the Rhine, the Main River, to the Danube. Thus, a trans-European waterway with a length of 3,503 km was created.

The Danube flows through Austria for 322 km through the main ports of Linz and Vienna, then it passes into Slovakia. In 2001, 10.2 million tons were transported within Austria along the Danube.

The Danube flows 172 km in Slovakia. When the corridor was opened, the vessel route pattern was partially changed. The main ports of the country are Bratislava and Komárno. Slovakia takes an active part in the Danube Commission in Budapest. Approximately 1 million tons of cargo passes through the GDP of Slovakia, mainly in transit.

In Hungary, the length of the Danube is 324 km, the main ports are Budapest and

Table 2. Ratio of use of various modes of transport, %

1980 1990 2000 2010

Motor transport 51.4 63.8 73.6 77.5

Railway transport 35.6 24.9 18.1 15.0

VVT 13.0 11.3 8.3 7.5

Baya. Cargo turnover is about 2 million tons per year.

Subsequently, the Danube follows the former countries of Yugoslavia for 589 km. The maximum draft of vessels in this area is 2.5 m, which affects the size of the vessels and barges used and represents the main limitation in the transportation of transit cargo.

Romania is the main Danube country: the river flows through its territory for 1075 km. In Romania, the Danube is divided into two parts: the Danube River - from Briaz (1075 km) to Braila (171 km), the sea Danube - from Braila to Sulina (exit to the sea).

The role of GDP in Europe's transport infrastructure

In table Figure 1 shows the dynamics of development of cargo transportation in Europe, expressed in ton-kilometers. Data on arms and military equipment transportation show their stability with a slight increase in absolute numbers, which indicates the established routes, types and quantities of cargo.

It is impossible not to notice a significant increase (almost three times) in road transport with a slight decrease in rail transport. Thus, against the background of increasing freight flow, road transport in Europe is developing at a faster pace and is the main one. This is absolutely natural and can be explained by at least two factors: firstly, the cost of creating a road infrastructure is lower than that of railways and inland waterways; secondly, fixed assets (trucks) are cheaper. Speed, maneuverability, and the ability to deliver in small quantities also play a role.

Such data is confirmed by the percentage change in the use of various modes of transport. Over three decades, there has been a percentage increase in the use of motor transport from 51 to 77%; accordingly, the share of other modes of transport has decreased.

It is impossible to characterize the entire current situation on Europe's GDP in two figures. According to table. 2, the average level of use of weapons and military equipment in Western European countries is 7%. In reality, this figure fluctuates significantly. In the Netherlands it is 42%, in Germany - 14%, in Belgium - 13% and in Luxembourg - 10%.

Vessels travel intensively along the Rhine, Scheldt, Meuse, Main, Danube and numerous small rivers. GDPs play a key role in the import and export of goods passing through northwestern European ports. They form a significant part of the transport infrastructure connecting the European hinterland and the main European ports.

It should also be noted that in Western Europe, only six countries have a system of interconnected GDPs: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Approximately one third of trade between these countries is carried out through GDP.

As already noted, the advantages of this type of transport are environmental friendliness, low cost of transportation, and safety compared to land-based alternatives, especially with motor transport, which, in addition, gets into congestion and traffic jams. In north-western Europe, for transport over distances of 150-200 km, IWT is the cheapest and most environmentally friendly way of delivering goods.

The above determines that in many important aspects IWT is a relevant connection between ports and the hinterland, especially in conditions of limited land transport infrastructure. In this case, water transport is considered not as a competitor or alternative to trains and cars, but as an additional opportunity to speed up freight turnover and reduce the load on land infrastructure. Relatively short transportation distances make it possible to select efficient water vehicles that meet the requirements of the infrastructure, and the difference in

delivery speed will not be so noticeable and critical.

The disadvantages inherent in this type of transport have limited the area of ​​its further distribution. Customers demand not only fast, but also timely delivery of goods. Unfortunately, in addition to environmental friendliness, reliability (safety) and low price, weapons and military equipment do not have the most important characteristic - the ability to urgently deliver goods. This is explained by the untimeliness and inaccuracy of information about the timing of the provision of the service (vehicle), as well as the physical limitations of loading and unloading places and the relatively long delivery time.

Moreover, thanks to the development of logistics services and economic needs, the traditional barge market for transporting ore, coal, petrochemicals, and animal feed is also under pressure from road and rail transport.

There are several reasons not to prioritize long-distance transport (for example, along the river system from the North Sea to the Black Sea). Firstly, there are not many cargoes for this type of transportation. Secondly, long-distance transportation is much slower than other modes of transport (road, rail). Thirdly, various conditions and restrictions of the transport infrastructure on a long journey force the use of vessels of a minimum size or a minimum load that meets the restrictions, which leads to increased costs and inefficiency of transportation. For example, along the entire length of the Danube, the depth varies from 7.5 m to 2.5 m.

Possibility of applying European experience in the operation of Russian GDPs

Cargo flows through Russian ports are characterized by two important features. Firstly, the import flow is mainly containerized cargo of consumer goods and finished products, equipment

dovovaniya for production. The share of other types of cargo in imports is very insignificant.

Secondly, export cargo is mainly raw materials transported in bulk, or semi-finished products transported as general cargo in bulk and not yet sufficiently containerized.

The heterogeneity of export and import flows creates an additional load on the transport infrastructure, since it is impossible to use the same rolling stock for fundamentally different types of cargo. Accordingly, the transport network bears a double burden for the delivery of goods.

Plans for the development of Russia's seaport infrastructure until 2030 include a significant increase in export volumes, mainly bulk cargo for export, and additional growth in port capacity is also envisaged, which will create an even more tense situation in the transport infrastructure.

In the climatic aspect, the possibility of operating the GDP is limited - from May to October. This, of course, negatively affects the creation of permanent logistics schemes with the participation of arms and military equipment.

In connection with the above, the most interesting aspects of the development of inland water transport should be highlighted. Among them is a more active use of weapons and military equipment as part of the transport infrastructure in servicing large seaports and their connections with inland dry ports. The northwestern ports of Europe, located at the mouths of large rivers or connected to them (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Flushing, Antwerp), actively and successfully use GDP as part of the transport infrastructure connecting the ports with the hinterland, thereby increasing the capacity of the entire regional transport infrastructure as a whole. The experience of such use would also be of interest to our ports in terms of reducing the load on the general transport network.

No less important aspect- this is the involvement of water transport in logistics schemes for the delivery of goods when using international corridors. Inland water transport along the north-south corridor experiences the same problems as through transport

along the Danube water system. In this regard, it is advisable to consider the issue holistically, taking into account the types of vessels used, the state of the transport infrastructure, and the possibility of using combined transport by various modes of transport. It should be noted that the operation of water transport is limited throughout the year.

The third aspect is the planning of transportation. Due to its characteristics (speed of transportation, limited routes, seasonality), weapons and military equipment are not intended to work on the spot market of transport services (like, for example, automobiles). He gravitates more towards long-term contract transportation, and in our country, due to climatic conditions, also towards seasonal transportation. Therefore, important conditions for the effectiveness of arms and military equipment are the planning and long-term nature of transportation contracts, preferably in a closed, circular cycle.

The researched topic allows us to draw the following conclusions.

Although climatic conditions of our country make it impossible for the existence of permanent logistics schemes with the participation of arms and military equipment, actually efficient use GDP for solving certain problems during navigation.

The use of GDP will significantly ease the load on the transport infrastructure as a whole and will free up other modes of transport, such as cars.

mobile or rail, for transporting goods that require constant and rhythmic delivery. This can be achieved by:

The use of river vessels as shuttles connecting the country’s inland terminals with ports requires the creation of new type multifunctional, high-speed vessels ensuring timely delivery of export and import cargo;

Delivery of large-capacity and oversized cargo, the transportation of which by other means of transport is impossible or difficult;

Delivery of goods to hard-to-reach places where there is no other transport infrastructure;

More active use of river vessels in the transportation of seasonal goods that do not require urgent delivery, in the transportation of bulk cargo in direct message to create stocks or fill warehouses and storage facilities. O

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European continent. Paris, 2008.

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infrastructure of Russia until 2030.

The rivers of Foreign Europe are not the largest in the world; Their length is barely 3000 km, but they have created an extensive shipping network. Even where there is no natural mouth, people dug canals and drained the sea to ensure the delivery of cargo far into the interior of the continent. Today, European waterways play a key role in the development of the region.

Largest water arteries

We list the largest rivers in Western Europe:

• Danube – 2850 km.
• Rhine – 2200 km.
• Elbe (Laba) – 1140 km.
• Loire – 1010 km.
• Tahoe – 1010 km.

Rice. 1. Map of rivers of Foreign Europe

All rivers from the above list perform a transport function. They transport thousands of tons of cargo and hundreds of passengers every day. In addition, navigable rivers are:

• Vistula;
• Audra;
• Ebro;
• Maas;
• Scheldt.

Danube

The Danube is a legendary river, the longest in Western Europe. The enormous length has helped connect many states that do not have access to the sea. The sources are in the mountains in Germany, and the mouth is on the border of Romania and Ukraine. The river flows into the Black Sea.

Rice. 2 Danube

10 states were formed along the Danube. The river is home to four of the most beautiful capitals in Europe: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade. And the Romanian part of the river delta is even included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Rhine

The Rhine is considered an important connecting water system between Germany, France and Holland. The movement begins in a small city in Switzerland - Basel. The Rhine is connected to the rest of the main rivers of Europe by canals. The mouth begins in the Netherlands and ends in the North Sea. It flows into the North Sea.

TOP 4 articleswho are reading along with this

Rice. 3. Rhine River on the map

Elbe

Another large river in Germany is the Elbe. However, it also occurs in the Czech Republic, a little in Poland and Austria. Like the Rhine, it originates in the Alps and ends in the waters of the North Sea. The mouth is quite wide, so a port was founded there - the city of Hamburg.

Loire

It is a waterway of France. It originates in the Seven Heights and is a wide mountain river crossing deep gorges and forming waterfalls of unprecedented beauty. On the flat territory it has a very wide flood, especially in the spring, which affects settlements located close to the river.

Tacho

The Tagus feeds the Iberian Peninsula. It is the main navigable river of Spain and Portugal. The upper course is a mountain river. At the mouth of the river there is the largest port in the Atlantic Ocean - Lisbon. It was from this place that sailors began their journey in the era of the Great Discoveries.

The most popular trips along the river are tourist cruises. Along the river there are many ancient Spanish and Portuguese cities that have preserved their medieval flavor.

Cities at river mouths

• Rhine – Haringvliet, Rotterdam;
• Elbe – Hamburg;
• Laura - Saint-Nazaire;
• Tagus - Lisbon.

What have we learned?

All major rivers of Western Europe play a key navigation role. They connect cities and countries with the World Ocean, allowing for the cheap transportation of goods deep into the continent. Among them, the most significant are: Danube, Rhine, Laura, Elbe, Tagus.

Evaluation of the report

Average rating: 3.7. Total ratings received: 7.

Rivers are not only objects of nature (beautiful, cozy), but also very convenient and, compared to other, cheap ways to transport goods. After decades of fascination with autobahns and fast rail, Western Europe is returning to water transport.

The reason is simple - security environment and reducing transport costs. After all, one ship takes on board the same amount of goods as 50-60 trucks. Therefore, it is not surprising that in the latest documents defining EU priorities in the field of transport for the coming years, special attention was paid to water transport.
These trends cannot but affect Ukraine, which can only benefit from Brussels’ new approaches to river transport. Ukraine is very conveniently located on the map of European waterways. Thus, the Danube and Dnieper are recognized as waterways of trans-European importance. A lot of space is devoted to the issues of modernizing the Ukrainian water transport system and water resource management in the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement. And here, perhaps, the most important thing is the development of river transport on the Dnieper and the creation of the E-70 Black Sea-Dnieper-Pripyat-Western Europe waterway. This would significantly reduce the energy dependence of the Ukrainian economy.
"Green" transport
What explains such close attention to water transport? River navigation solves several key problems for Europe at the same time. Firstly, the means. During a crisis, everyone is looking for an opportunity to save money, and the cost of transporting a ton of cargo by ship is more than ten times lower than when transporting by road. True, the disadvantage is the slightly longer transportation time, which excludes the transportation by river of goods that must be immediately delivered to the client. However, the low cost of transportation is such an important factor that now on the Rhine, Seine or Danube there are ships not only with coal and crushed stone, but also with containers, cars, etc.
Secondly, this is the already mentioned ecology. In recent years, the European Union has adopted very strict criteria for emissions of carbon dioxide, dust and harmful substances, as well as for loudness levels. But in times of crisis, Europe is in no hurry to make serious investments, for example, in renewable energy, and it is somehow inappropriate to abandon the proclaimed standards. So transport still has the greatest reserves for achieving these environmental standards. We are talking about increasingly new restrictions for road transport (banning trucks in city centers, new fees and taxes, stricter safety and hygiene standards for drivers) and at the same time providing preferences for railway and river and sea transportation.
Third, counteract the negative consequences of excessive motorization. In the context of Ukraine, words about an excessive number of autobahns sound strange, but the Germans or the Dutch are not laughing at all. In West Germany, the Netherlands or Belgium, the density of autobahns exceeds all limits of common sense, but even if every free piece of land there is concreted, this still will not solve the problem. Seaports in Hamburg, Antwerp or Amsterdam suffer from traffic jams leaving them - the capacity of port roads and railways is limited, and there is physically no place to build new ones. The optimal solution is precisely the reloading of goods in the board-to-board format, from a sea vessel to a river vessel, and the export of cargo by water further to Europe.
Due to the specific nature of river transport, it is not very suitable for short transportation, except, for example, for the transportation of building materials, in particular sand. To take full advantage of its advantages, it is necessary to create a continuous network of full-fledged waterways that would cover the whole of Europe and even the Caspian Sea region. This is exactly what the unified European transport network TEN-T and the AGN convention on international waterways serve, in which a lot of space is also given to Ukraine and Belarus.

First of all the Danube
After the end of the Balkan wars and the accession of Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria to the EU, there has been an increase in the importance of the Danube, the largest European river after the Volga. Moreover, in the coming years, almost all Danube countries (except Ukraine and Moldova) will be part of the EU, which will significantly improve economic cooperation within the Danube region.
If you look at the Danube in Bratislava, Vienna or Budapest, you get the impression that we are standing in front of a water highway. Not only coal, sand and other low-value goods are transported along the Danube, but also containers, cars, etc. Even passenger transport has been developed, although it would seem that the river here has forever lost the competition with buses and the railway.
For example: high-speed passenger ships run between Bratislava and Vienna several times a day, covering this distance in an hour and a half. This is only half an hour longer than by train, but taking into account the fact that the ship transports passengers from the center to the center of the capital (the railway stations are located a little further), it is even faster in the end. Thus, water transport is used not only by tourists, but also by businessmen or people who live in one capital and work in another (in the Vienna-Bratislava duopolis this is a fairly common lifestyle).
An important advantage of the Danube is that the main economic centers of this region are located on it, in particular the capitals of the states - Bratislava, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade. Each of these cities (and many others) has powerful river ports and multimodal logistics centers. The importance of this river artery increased after the opening of the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal in 1992, connecting the Danube region (and thus southwestern Ukraine) with the leading seaports of the North Sea. Currently on the agenda is the creation of two new canals in the Czech Republic and Slovakia: Danube-Odra-Elbe and Danube-Vag-Odra. They will begin to be built in about ten years, which will create a promising waterway between the Black and Baltic seas.

Water transport for energy saving
For Ukraine, the development of waterways is of strategic importance, taking into account European integration aspirations and the issue of energy security. The key problem is the creation of the trans-European waterway E-40 Dnieper-Pripyat-Vistula. This route would make it possible to transfer a large share of the freight traffic that moves in the East-West (Poland-Ukraine-Russia) and North-South (Baltic ports-Black Sea ports) directions from roads to environmentally friendly and energy-saving water transport. And this, in turn, would help reduce costs by reducing the energy intensity of the Ukrainian economy and strengthening energy independence. Transfer of cargo flows from roads to waterways is also one of the the best ways reduce the emission of carbon dioxide and harmful substances, which has great importance in the process of Ukraine's integration with the EU.
To say that Kyiv does not want to develop river transport would be unfair. In particular, in 2009, after many years of negotiations, Ukraine finally acceded to the European Agreement on International Waterways (AGN), taking on obligations regarding the Danube, Dnieper and Pripyat (these rivers are part of the international waterways specified in the agreement). The issue of water transport was actively discussed during the negotiations regarding the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement. Here too we managed to establish constructive cooperation. During these negotiations, Kyiv pledged to carry out a series of important reforms in the water transport industry, which today is in no hurry. And the development of stable legislation, a clear distribution of powers of individual bodies and the introduction of transparent rules for establishing fees and taxes for the use of waterways in general and locks in particular are by far the most sensitive issues.
Despite the outdated infrastructure of gateways and ports, in general the navigation parameters of the Dnieper meet the international waterway standards specified in the AGN agreement (unlike Poland, where large capital investments are required). There are no problems at all with the Belarusian section of the E-40 route (Pripyat River, Dnieper-Bug Canal): quite a lot of money has recently been invested in modernizing the water transport infrastructure. The only problem is Poland, one of the few European countries that has not yet signed the AGN convention and is in no hurry to develop shipping on its section of the E-40 route, that is, on the Vistula and Bug.
A paradoxical situation: Kyiv is still implementing (albeit slowly and inconsistently) European recommendations on the development of water transport and Ukraine’s participation in the unified European transport network TEN-T. However, an obstacle to the integration of Ukrainian transport system Poland stands with the European side, positioning itself as an advocate of Ukrainian interests in the European Union. Until Poland signs the AGN and fulfills its obligations regarding the E-40 waterway, the Dnieper and Pripyat will remain a waterway to nowhere (sorry, only to Brest), instead of uniting Ukraine with the West. It is worth reminding our partners from Warsaw and Brussels of this when they talk about slowing down the European integration process only on the Ukrainian side.

The article describes the history of the formation of intra-European water transport routes and Russia's participation in this process

Keywords: intra-European inland waterways transport routes

V.Gorbanev. Intra European Water Transportation Routes

The author describes the history of emergence of intra European water routes and Russia’s participation in this process

Key words: intra European water transportation routes

As you know, transport is the most important infrastructure sector in the functioning of the economy at any geographical level. Transport clearly reflects the changes taking place in the geographical division of labor and in the relationship between producers and buyers.

The formation of relatively stable regional markets began at the end of the developed Middle Ages. However, a big obstacle to the development of trade was the imperfection of means of communication. If during the Roman Empire the main routes of communication were land roads, which were maintained in good condition, then in the Middle Ages, primacy began to shift to river routes - the Rhine, Danube, Rhone, Loire, Elbe and other smaller rivers. River routes were simpler and required less labor to operate and maintain them. But here, too, significant difficulties were encountered: watersheds had to be overcome. River transportation on watersheds was especially hampered by customs outposts set up by feudal lords on the borders of their domains. In the 14th century there were 64 such outposts on the Rhine, 35 on the Elbe, 74 on the Loire, and duties were collected at each of them. And in the event of a shipwreck, “coastal law” was in force, which allowed the owner of the land to confiscate goods. To increase the number of shipwrecks, feudal lords even installed false lighthouses.

To overcome watershed spaces, and they usually correspond to elevated terrain, from where rivers flow in different directions, from the 9th century they began to build canals between rivers - first in Lombardy (canals connected Milan with Pavia) and southern France, and a little later - in Holland, Germany, where the rivers Trave (near Lübeck) and Elbe (Hamburg) were connected. Belgium built such a network of canals that waterways reached almost every major city. The technique of constructing canals had reached a high level. Thus, in the 15th century, chamber locks were already in practice, although land, usually horse-drawn, transport was still often used on watersheds.

I.A. Vitver examined in detail the geographical prerequisites for the development of external relations in Europe, assessing them as quite favorable. As the geographic division of labor deepened, these prerequisites began to be used more and more widely, with maritime connections coming to the fore. During the era of the developed Middle Ages, two main areas of maritime trade emerged in Europe - northern and southern, where the main direction of trade was latitudinal. The northern region covered the waters of the North and Baltic seas with the lower reaches of the rivers flowing into them. Already in the 11th-13th centuries, there was vigorous trade here, the western outpost of which was Bruges in Flanders, and the eastern outpost was Novgorod in Russia. At the same time, the North German cities, which found themselves at the center of trade relations, were able to take advantage of their geographical position and formed the trade and political Hanseatic League in the 13th-14th centuries, which eventually united about 80 cities from London to Novgorod and Pskov, and in the meridional direction - from Bergen to Nuremberg. Lübeck became the center of the Hanseatic League, and the coat of arms of Lübeck - the imperial eagle - accordingly became the coat of arms of the Hanseatic League.

The Viking fleet was used in the northern seas and northern rivers in the 9th-12th centuries. These were fast sailing and oaring vessels, more suitable for military purposes than for trade. Later, the Hanseatic people created a new type of ship, more suitable for trade - ketches. It was a sailing ship, more maneuverable and fast. The displacement of medieval ships did not exceed 300-400 tons, in the late Middle Ages - 600 tons.

The southern trading area was the Mediterranean, where main role Venice and Genoa played. The ruins of Genoese fortresses in Feodosia and Sudak still remind of the greatness of Genoa.

The two main areas of European trade were connected trade routes meridional direction, where river routes were laid, still combined in watershed areas with land routes.

The second route went along the Meuse through France, Belgium, Holland and then along the Rhone again to the Mediterranean Sea. Cities such as Verdun, Namur, and Liege stood out here.

The third route went from the North Sea along the Rhine through Cologne and Strasbourg, then through the Alpine passes of Saint Bernard and Saint Gotthard to Italy to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

The fourth route to some extent duplicated the third, going from the North Sea along the Weser, then through the Alpine passes to Italy.

The fifth route is along the Elbe, where the main centers were Hamburg, Magdeburg, and Prague.

The sixth route is along the Oder with the main city of Szczecin and the seventh route is along the Vistula, where Gdansk and Warsaw were formed.

This entire system of meridional routes was intersected by two latitudinal routes: the first - the Danube, where Linz, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade arose, and the second - along the small rivers of the foothills - the Ore Mountains, the Sudetenland, the Carpathians. Leipzig, Wroclaw, Krakow, Lviv were formed here. They very successfully managed to use their geographical position at the intersection of the latitudinal and meridional river routes of Augsburg and Nuremberg.

By the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries after the Great Geographical Discoveries, the role of inland waterways began to decline and, conversely, the role of sea routes began to grow. As a result, the importance of ports such as London, Antwerp, and Amsterdam in world trade has increased. The role of Antwerp, located at the mouth of the Scheldt, several tens of kilometers from the sea coast, was especially important. In the 17th century, the palm passed to Amsterdam and London. The importance of the Mediterranean Sea was somewhat lower, since the area was already under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, and the Strait of Gibraltar was “locked” by Spain. In addition, Barbary piracy, associated with the Turkish conquerors, flourished in the Mediterranean.

However, the northern and southern regions were still connected by river trade routes, mainly through Germany, where Augsburg and Nuremberg dominated. These were the largest transshipment points for Italian silk products, Indian spices, and were the concentration of significant wealth and luxury.

At the end of the XVIII - early XIX centuries, numerous customs barriers begin to crumble. Only in Germany, on the night of January 1, 1834, were all barriers eliminated and for the first time in the history of this country a single market arose. The same thing happened in France, Italy, Poland, the Balkan countries, and Russia.

Today, the role of river transport in Europe is also quite large - 9% of all transportation, although, of course, it cannot compete with rail, road or pipeline transport. And yet, even after standing for a few minutes on the banks of the Rhine or Danube, it is not difficult to see that these are working rivers: laden ships flying the flags of different countries are constantly moving in both directions.

Different countries have different shipping requirements; a depth of at least 1.2 m is required for modern vessels to pass through. Transportation by water is slower, but cheaper than by land. Compared to other modes of transport, the river fleet is the least energy-intensive and the most environmentally friendly. River transport has the lowest cost of transportation, good coordination with the international transport network, and does not require large financial investments in infrastructure. If we compare the cost of 1 thousand km of railway and the funds required to equip 1 thousand km of river for navigation - for the construction of piers, port mechanisms, warehouses, installation of hydrographic equipment, dredging - it turns out that the development of river routes costs 8 -10 times cheaper.

They prefer to transport large consignments of heavy and bulky cargo by water - raw materials, fuel, building materials, timber, grain; In recent years, the volume of container traffic has been growing. Currently, in lowland Europe, more goods are transported by rivers and canals than by road or rail. An extensive network of canals unites the rivers here into a single water transport system.

In terms of the length of inland waterways, Europe lags significantly behind other regions of the world. The length of the shipping routes of the European Union is more than 50 thousand km (although some sources give the figure 35 thousand km), including France - 8.5 thousand km, Finland - 7.8 thousand, Germany - 7.5 thousand, Netherlands - 6.2 thousand km. For comparison, we note that the length of the inland waterways of Russia and China is more than 100 thousand km, the USA - 41 thousand km.

The largest navigable rivers in Europe are the Volga (2600 km from Rzhev), Danube (2414 km from Kölheim in Bavaria), Don, Oka, Rhine (952 km from Basel), Elbe (950 km), Dnieper, Kama, Vychegda, Vistula (940 km), Meuse (880 km), Odra (790 km), Northern Dvina.

However, the level of development of river transport is determined by the size of its freight turnover or its share in the total freight turnover of transport. Today, the leader in freight turnover of inland water transport in Europe is Germany - 64 t-km, followed by the Netherlands (45), Belgium (8.7), France (7.4). And in terms of the share of cargo turnover in total cargo turnover, the Netherlands (54%) leads, followed by Germany (20%), Belgium (15%), France (3%).

River and sea ports occupy an important place in intermodal transport, especially in connection with mass containerization. The largest river ports in Europe are Duisburg (cargo turnover 54 million tons), Paris (20 million tons), Ghent (18 million tons), Cologne (15 million tons), Liege (14 million tons), Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Vienna, Mannheim, Strasbourg . Thanks to wide river estuaries, seaports penetrate tens and hundreds of kilometers into the interior of the continent and, in their connections with the hinterland, rely on river arteries connected by canals. The combination of sea and river transport creates a single water transport system, extended in the meridional direction (except, of course, the Danube). For example, the port of Rotterdam transports more than half of its cargo via inland waterways.

Therefore, the development of inland water transport is decisively influenced by the condition of waterways and, in particular, the condition and size of canals. The Rhine-Rhône Canal, built in France in 1833, is 320 km long and has 172 locks. And the Languedon Canal, also built in France even earlier - in 1681 and connecting the Garonne River (Toulouse) with the Mediterranean Sea (Sète), has a length of 240 km. Now there are 91 locks operating on the canal, lifting ships up to 190 m. Thus, the “Two Seas” canal, as it is called, connected the Mediterranean Sea with Atlantic Ocean. Currently, it is extended under the name of the 6th Garon Canal to the Bay of Biscay.

The longest canals in Europe besides those named are the Göta Canal in Sweden (built in 1832 and 420 km long), connecting the Baltic and the Kattegat Strait, the Central German Canal with a length of 326 km and connecting the Rhine with the rivers Ems, Weser, Elbe and further through a system of rivers and lakes with the Oder; This is the central shipping route connecting Western and Eastern Europe. The Dortmund-Ems Canal in Germany connects Dortmund with Emden; its length is 270 km, the canal was built in 1899. A large number of canals are available in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and Great Britain.

However, the largest and most important today is the canal connecting the Danube and the Main (a tributary of the Rhine). The short waterway opens up most of Europe for free navigation of river boats. This idea originated in the 8th century (793) at the court of the Frankish king Charlemagne. The canal, called the “Charles Ditch,” was supposed to be a chain of small ponds along which watercraft with a carrying capacity of up to a ton were supposed to be pulled with a towline and dragged through the dams. According to German researchers, the volume of excavation work during the construction of the canal was about 120 thousand m 3, they employed approximately 2 thousand people, according to some sources, these were peasants from surrounding villages, according to others - soldiers. During the construction of the canal, there was an acute shortage of workers, and the work itself, carried out using primitive manual means, was very unproductive. Due to constant rains, the swampy soil, oversaturated with moisture, negated all the efforts of the diggers. And as a result, Karl was forced to abandon his idea.

And only many centuries later, in the 30s of the 19th century, the idea was resurrected again. As noted by Y. Shpigelman, a specialist at the Ukrainian Research Institute of the Maritime Fleet, on the modern pilot map of the Danube within the city of Kelheim, a canal departs from the Danube and breaks off after a few hundred meters. These are the remains of a water transport connection created 160 years ago that have survived to this day. In 1834, King Ludwig of Bavaria issued a law “On the construction of a canal to connect the Rhine with the Danube.” The task was complex: from the Danube side it was necessary to raise the water by 68 m, and from the Main side - by 175 m. The canal route between Bamberg and Kelheim was divided into 7 sections, on which in July 1836, from 6 to 8 thousand workers began simultaneously excavating soil. The northern part of the canal (Bamberg - Nuremberg) was put into operation 7 years later, the first ship sailed to Nuremberg on May 6, 1843. In 1846, the southern part of the canal (Nuremberg - Kelheim) was put into operation. The completed structure between Bamberg on the Main and Kelheim on the Danube, 172.44 km long, 15.8 m wide (at the bottom - 10 m) and 1.4-1.5 m deep, became a masterpiece of the engineering art of its time. The “Ludwig Canal,” named after its founder, had 101 locks with a length of 35.1 m and a width of 4.8 m; ships with a carrying capacity of up to 120 tons could pass through it. In many sections of the canal, the movement of ships was carried out using horse traction , for which flags were laid along the waterway. The Hungarian Count Edmund Szechenyi wrote a significant page in the history of the “Ludwig Canal”: on the ship “Hableany” that he owned, he left Pest, sailed along the Danube to Kelheim, passed through the canal and then along the Main, Rhine and the inland waterway system that already existed at that time The paths of France reached Paris, where he took part in the V Universal Exhibition of 1867.

J. Spiegelman writes that the first 15 years after the canal was put into operation were a period of its prosperity. The volume of cargo transportation along the canal grew steadily, reaching a maximum in 1850 - 195.96 thousand tons. In the subsequent period, transportation through the canal invariably decreased - the limited depths in the adjacent sections of the Danube and Main affected the impact, the size of the locks did not correspond to the size of the vessels equipped steam engines, horse-drawn canal shipping could not withstand stiff competition from the railroad. By the end of the century, cargo turnover on the canal dropped to 100 thousand tons per year, and in the period between the two world wars it did not exceed 30-40 thousand tons per year. The canal, which received serious damage during the hostilities of 1944-1945, was completely closed to traffic by decision of the Bavarian authorities in January 1950.

The construction of a new, technically more modern canal began in 1922, and they began to build it from two sides - from the Main and from the Danube. To create water back-up, 13 dams were built before 1939. Then the work was interrupted due to the Second World War and was resumed in Germany only in the 60s.

In 1972, the northern section of the Bamberg-Nuremberg canal was put into operation, and in 1992, the southern section of Nuremberg-Kelheim, which marked the end of the construction of the entire canal. In the same year, the canal was inaugurated, and thus its 20th anniversary will be celebrated this year. In total, 5 locks were built on the Danube side, which lift ships, and 11 locks, lowering ships into the Main. The canal is designed for ships with a draft of 2.5 m and a carrying capacity of 1800 tons. The canal itself has a length of 171 km, a width of 55 m and a depth of about 4.25 m (the minimum fairway depth is 2.7 m). The canal is adjacent to the canalized sections of the Main (297 km long) and the Danube (209 km long), i.e. the total length of the Main-Danube water transport connection is 677 km. The canal has become a link between the two largest international rivers in Europe - the Rhine and Danube and provides river communication between the Atlantic (North Sea) and the Black Sea.

The through water transport route has a length of 3,503 km and passes through the territory of fifteen European countries: 10 Danube countries (including Germany) and five Rhine countries. The canal is used by many European countries. To date, fairly stable ratios of flags have developed in the transportation of goods through the canal: Germany accounts for 50-55% of traffic volumes, the Netherlands - 25-30%, Belgium - 6%, Austria 4-6%, Hungary - 2-4%, Slovakia - 2%, Luxembourg, France - less than 1%, other countries - less than 0.5%. Not only commercial but also numerous tourist ships travel through the canal.

In the first year of operation of the canal - in 1993 - its cargo turnover amounted to 5085 thousand tons. The maximum cargo turnover on the canal was reached in 2000 - 8501 thousand tons; in subsequent years, cargo turnover was lower, although its design figure was estimated in the range from 15 to 20 million tons. This decline in canal traffic in the last decade is explained by low water levels, especially in the dry season, and the lack of shallow-draft fleet to sail on sections of the Rhine and Danube adjacent to the canal. Through traffic along the entire waterway from Rotterdam to Sulin (at the mouth of the Danube) is ineffective. Intensive cargo transportation is carried out in areas from Rotterdam to Vienna and Budapest and from Sulina to the ports of Bavaria. Transportation of goods along the entire route - from the ports of the Lower Danube to Rotterdam is more efficient by sea.

Through the Main-Danube Canal, cargo flows along the canal are always more significant in their specific gravity for Rhine shipping; this can be seen from a comparison of annual traffic volumes on the Danube and Rhine, which in 2003 amounted to 24.7 and 187.0 million tons, respectively.

The Rhine is for Germany what the Volga is for Russia: if the Volga in Russia is called “mother,” then the Rhine in Germany is called “father.” The Rhine originates in the Swiss Alps and flows north through the territories of 6 states. The length of the river, according to updated data, is 1233 km, the area of ​​the basin together with the Meuse River is 251,800 km 2. (excluding the Meuse - 185,000 km 2), the maximum depth in the navigable section is 25 m. More than 50 million people live along the banks of the Rhine, which indicates the exceptional role of the Rhine for coastal countries and the high environmental load on the coastal geoecosystem. It is the Rhine that is the core of the so-called “Hot Banana”, stretching in an arc from central Great Britain to northern Italy. The Rhine is a source of renewable and environmentally friendly clean energy. The Upper Rhine is the cradle of hydropower in Europe. Back in 1880, the Rheinfelden hydroelectric power station was built here, which is still in operation today. In total, a cascade of 21 hydroelectric power stations has been built on the river to date.

Navigation on the Rhine has existed for many hundreds of years. There is evidence that back in the days Ancient Rome merchants transported goods from cities along the banks of the Rhine directly to England and Spain. Starting from the 12th century, Dutch ships - holks - regularly sailed along the river, delivering goods from Rhine cities to the sea coast. And the Hanseatic military-merchant ships - coggs - built in Cologne, participated in the third crusade and successfully reached the banks of the Nile. Shipping on the Rhine has picked up sharply since the second half of the 19th century centuries, when the water level in the river was regulated and sailing ships were replaced by steamships. Regular steamship service was organized between Cologne and London, and a little later ships from Cologne began to sail to the ports of France, Poland and even St. Petersburg. Regular sailing of steamships on the Rhine began in 1885.

Today the Rhine is the busiest river in the world. The total volume of traffic along the Rhine is about 300 million tons. In the middle reaches of the Rhine, up to 120 ships pass per day. The length of waterways in the Rhine basin is 3000 km. The Rhine is navigable for 952 km up to Besel and Lake Baden. It is connected by canals to the Rhone, Marne, Weser and Elbe. To ensure normal navigation, all waterworks are equipped with shipping locks capable of simultaneously passing up to four barges with a total carrying capacity of 8.8 thousand tons.

Due to the enormous anthropogenic load on the geoecosystem of the Rhine, by the 1930s the water quality in the river had sharply deteriorated. As they rightly said at the time, the Rhine became a sewer. Therefore, in 1950, on the initiative of Germany and Holland, the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine was created. Its decisions were aimed at ensuring environmental safety in the basin and stopping the discharge of industrial wastewater into the Rhine. In the 1960-1970s, enterprises began to create closed-cycle water use systems through the use of waste-free technologies. Already by 1985 salt heavy metals stopped flowing into the river. Since 1990, substances such as chromium, nickel, dioxins, dichlorvos, etc. have not entered the river. Monitoring water sources is carried out in close cooperation with the water police, which has exclusive rights to control enterprises located in the river basin.

In 1986, one of the largest environmental disasters in Europe occurred on the Rhine. A fire at a chemical plant in Basel resulted in the release of 30 tons of pesticides, mercury and other agricultural chemicals into the river. The Rhine turned literally red. Within 10 days the pollutants reached the North Sea. Half a million fish died, some species disappeared altogether. After a strong public reaction in 1987, the Commission adopted the “Rhine Action Program”, designed until the year 2000. The program envisaged the restoration of floodplain lands, as well as flora and fauna, to the diversity that existed here before the construction of flood dams. Particular importance was attached to the restoration of the Rhine salmon population. The amount of nitrates and phosphorus discharged into the river has decreased by 50%. New work passage structures were built along the entire length of the river, including the largest ladder-type fish ladders in Europe at two hydroelectric power stations of the Rhine Cascade. As a result of all these measures, salmon returned to the river three years earlier - by 1997. Herring, trout and other noble fish species that are especially sensitive to water quality also returned. The Rhine 2020 Program has now been adopted, aimed at further cleaning the Rhine. In addition, to return the Rhine floodplain, it is planned to restore the previously regulated section of the river to the outlines that it had before 1816, with the gradual dismantling of all erected dams.

The second largest river in Europe is the Danube, which is 2,783 km long. Of these, 2,414 km are navigable, and the length of the shipping routes of the entire Danube basin is more than 5,000 km. Despite the fact that the Danube is inferior in length to the Volga, nevertheless, the Danube has become the personification of Europe. The famous "Fountain of the Rivers" in Piazza Navona in Rome - a work by J. L. Bernini - includes an allegorical figure depicting the Danube as a symbol of the European continent. The peculiarity of the Danube is that it is the only river in Europe that flows in a latitudinal direction from west to east and flows into the Black Sea. The depth of the fairway ranges from 4 to 25 m, although in some places the depths are even greater. There are a lot of riffles in the river that make swimming difficult. The river has more than 300 tributaries, 34 of which are navigable. The tributaries form an extensive river network with an area of ​​817 thousand km 2. The Danube flows through the territories of 10 countries of Western and Central-Eastern Europe, and the river basin covers 18 European countries.

The first navigators to explore the lower reaches of the river were the Phoenicians, followed by the Greeks, who founded on the banks of the Danube in the 11th-9th centuries. BC e. their colonies and trading posts.

The Romans made detailed studies of the entire course of the Danube. They built dozens of fortifications along the banks of the river, paved roads, and created a river fleet. And the Danube became a busy trade route.

In the XI-XII centuries. Slavic and other tribes, having significantly displaced the Byzantines to the south, settled on the banks of the Lower Danube. The Middle Danube is occupied by Western groups of Slavs - Czechs, Slovaks. Here, as well as on the Upper Danube, Germanic tribes and Turkic newcomers settled.

Emergence Kievan Rus at the turn of the YIII-IX centuries. led to a revival of trade along the Danube, a natural waterway convenient for maintaining connections not only between the peoples who inhabited its banks, but also for trade with coastal states on the Black Sea and beyond. In the Russian chronicle of the times of the Kiev prince Svyatoslav it is said that here “... all good things converge: from the Greek gold, pavolok (fabrics), wines and various vegetables, from the Czechs and Ugor silver and komoni (horses), from Rus' quickly ( leather) and wax, honey and servants."

“All good things” whetted the appetites of many rulers. The Persian king Darius and Alexander the Great, the Roman emperors and Batu Khan sent their troops here. Detachments of crusaders moved along the Danube. For almost three centuries, the Ottoman Empire was the mistress of the Lower and Middle Danube. During the periods of new and modern history Austria, Germany, England, France, the Russian Empire competed here....

The development of navigation on the Danube began in the 19th century. In 1834, Izmail merchants owned 20 ships. To transport goods abroad along the shortest route, transport with a small carrying capacity was used, since the Chilia branch of the Danube did not allow the passage of ships with a draft of more than 2 m.

In the middle of the 19th century, the Danube ports actively developed. In 1846 alone, 138 ships visited Izmail, among them 50 Russian, 45 Turkish, 38 Greek, 8 Austrian, 2 English. Russia's defeat in the Crimean War became a major obstacle to the development of Danube trade, and within 20 years Russia was effectively eliminated from the Danube.

In the early 80s of the 19th century, the Russian government was faced with the task of creating a steamship company on the Danube. On July 3, 1881, the “Regulations on urgent goods and passenger steamship traffic between the cities of Odessa and Izmail with calls at Kiliya and Reni” were approved. 125 years ago, the first Russian shipping company “Prince Yuri Gagarin and Co” appeared and since November 21, 1883, for the first time in the history of domestic merchant shipping on the Danube, Russia has established regular international trade relations with the Danube states.

To stay on the banks of the Danube in competition with shipping companies of other foreign powers, it was necessary to have a strong merchant fleet. Therefore, a few years later, in 1886, the shipping company of Prince Gagarin was transformed into a joint-stock company called the Black Sea-Danube Shipping Company. This society opened the way for Russian goods along the great European river and proved the profitability of steamship communication on the Danube.

Three years after the end of the Second World War, on July 30, 1948, an international conference on the Danube opened in Belgrade, in which representatives of 10 countries (including 7 Danube countries) took part. In August of the same year, representatives of the Danube countries signed the Convention on the Regime of Navigation on the Danube. In accordance with the Convention, the Danube Commission was established, designed to coordinate various aspects of navigation on the Danube: hydraulic engineering, hydrometeorological, environmental, legal, statistical, economic, publishing. The first session of the Commission took place in 1949 in Galati (Romania). After the events of the 90s, which led to the formation of new independent states, the composition of the Danube Commission expanded to 11 member states - 10 Danube and Russian Federation, which is not a Danube state. At the same time, it was stated that the Convention applies to the navigable part of the Danube from Kelheim (the lower edge of the Main-Danube Canal) to the Black Sea. Currently, work is underway to prepare a new edition of the Convention, updated to the realities of today. In particular, it is planned to expand the members of the Danube Commission to 14 by joining the Commission with Turkey, France and the European Union.

On October 14, 1944, by decision of the State Defense Committee of the USSR, the Soviet Danube Shipping Company was created in the city of Izmail to ensure transportation of Soviet troops and equipment along the Danube, as well as national economic cargo.

The growth of trade turnover and the development of navigation along the Danube required equipping the shipping company with qualitatively new vessels. In the 50s and 60s, 75 new tugs and pushers were built. On May 19, 1978, on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement between four countries - Bulgaria, Hungary, the USSR and Czechoslovakia - the international shipping enterprise Interlichter was created. Since 1984, a lighter transport and technological system has been in operation, operating in the following areas: ports of the Black and Mediterranean Seas, the Middle East, North and East Africa. Currently, the enterprise consists of four ship-owning companies, including OJSC North-Western Shipping Company (St. Petersburg). The efforts of Interlighter participants are aimed at restoring the Danube lighter system - the cheapest and most effective non-transshipment method of water communication, including through the Volga-Don Canal with the Volga ports.

The Soviet Danube Shipping Company in the 80s was a large complex enterprise, the transport fleet of which alone numbered more than 1000 units. The shipping company provided transportation of the country's foreign trade cargo, cargo of foreign owners in the Danube River basin, as well as to the ports of the Black, Mediterranean, Red Seas, Southeast Asia, Western and Northern Europe.

Currently, Danube shipping is experiencing difficult times. As the Chairman of the Danube Commission Dimitar Ikonomov recently noted, today is the most important question- these are the most difficult shipping conditions on the Danube due to the long absence of the depths necessary for navigation. In turn, the lack of depth is caused by a sharp decrease in precipitation in the river basin. In certain critical sections of the Danube, starting from the end of August, navigation either stops or is severely limited. On the rifts, the depths drop to 1.2 m, which does not allow the passage of cargo and passenger ships. As a result, shipping companies suffer colossal losses amounting to tens of millions of euros. According to the chief expert of the Russian River Register V. Vorontsov, the lack of precipitation is not the only reason for the shallowing of the Danube; another, even more important reason is the retreat of the Commission member countries from their own plans to radically improve navigation conditions on the Danube. In particular, the previously adopted Plan provided for the construction of hydroelectric complexes that could turn the entire Danube into a deep-water international waterway. However, out of the planned 30 hydroelectric complexes, only 18 were built. It was the refusal to build hydroelectric complexes, the expert believes, that had a particularly negative impact on ensuring sufficient depths for navigation.

According to German data, cargo transportation along the federal waterway is about 7.5 million tons. More than 60% of cargo falls into three groups: food products, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, ores and scrap metal. In terms of fleet ownership, the flags of Germany are in the lead - more than 50%, the flags of the Netherlands - 14-18%, Slovakia and Hungary - 6-8%, Austria and Bulgaria - 5%, Belgium - less than 4%, Romania - 1-4%, Ukraine - 0.6-2.3%, Russia - hundredths of a percent.

In addition to Germany, where the Rhine and Danube flow and the Main-Danube Canal was built, a powerful river network has formed in the Netherlands. The country is called the gateway to the European continent, the main distribution center of Europe; they have become the most important transshipment point for oil, gas, metals, timber, cocoa, and many agricultural products. This role of the Netherlands is due to the excellent geographical location- on the coast of the North Sea, where three large rivers flow - the Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt. As a result, the largest transport hub and the largest port-industrial complex were formed here. The inland shipping routes of the Netherlands (more than 6 thousand km or about 15% of the EU inland river routes) serve 6 thousand vessels with a total displacement of 5 million tons. The Dutch fleet on inland routes is the largest in Europe. Its share in international transport is 65% of the Netherlands' cargo turnover.

The potential of inland waterways attracts developers of proposals in the field of transport. One such proposal is the Great European Container Ring. The authors of the project believe that the established container scheme will change. As part of Russia's accession to the WTO, the possibility of foreign ships passing through Russia's inland waterways is being discussed. Such alternatives are also necessary for Moscow transit. The justification for the project states that the features of the waterway system of the EU and the Russian Federation allow it to be used as a transport corridor. However, the existing transport infrastructure in Russia does not guarantee the success of the project. At the same time, the project allows the development of container transportation based on inland waterways along the Great Container Ring: Rhine - Main - Main-Danube Canal - Danube - Black Sea - Sea of ​​Azov - Don - Volga-Don Canal - Volga - Caspian Sea; or Volga - Volga-Baltic Canal - Neva - Baltic Sea. One of the main conditions for the implementation of the project is the creation of intermodal infrastructure within the Great Circle. The authors of the project insist that the ports of the ring have uniform cargo handling capabilities, such as, for example, area size, handling equipment, etc. Special attention paid to the unification of norms and rules governing transportation. This approach will increase the level of containerization and create cost-effective interaction with other modes of transport simultaneously on the scale of all countries included in the ring.

What are the prospects for river transport in Europe? At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, river transport, one might say, found itself in crisis. It could not compete with other modes of transport. However, in recent years there has been a lot of talk about energy saving and alternative energy sources. And it was then that the Europeans remembered the cheapest and least energy-intensive form of transport. In connection with the development of multi-system supply chains based on a combination of river and road transport, the share of river transport began to grow, and until recently, as noted above, it was 9%. The European Commission has proposed an ambitious multi-year action program designed to promote the development of river transport in Europe. This program is described as a decisive contribution to the European strategy for economic growth and employment. River routes make transport in Europe more efficient, reliable and economical. Recent years have seen impressive rates of growth in river transport in many European countries. Subsidies from the EU budget for fleet modernization account for 20-30% of costs. Financial support is also provided from regional budgets.

In particular, the European Union has developed a Strategy for the Danube Region. The document emphasizes that quite recently there have been dramatic changes in the region, with a wave-like expansion of the European Union. Most of The most multinational river basin is located in the EU space. “The Danube,” says the Strategy, “can open the EU to its closest neighbors, the Black Sea region, the South Caucasus and Central Asia. With a population of over 100 million people, the EU's fifth largest territory is of great interest to Europe." Thus, there is not only an economic, but also, first of all, a geopolitical interest of the EU in the Danube region.

— Mobility: the share of goods transported along the Danube is only 10-20% of the volume transported along the Rhine. Therefore, there is a special need for the development of multimodality, better interconnection with other basins, and modernization of infrastructure;

— Energy: prices in the region are higher than in other regions. Dependence on too few external suppliers increases vulnerability. Therefore, the decisive point is to increase economic efficiency, including the use of energy-saving and renewable energy sources;

— Environment: The Danube region is a major international watershed and ecological corridor. This requires a regional approach to nature conservation, spatial planning and management natural resources. Basic ecological problems region - untreated wastewater, fertilizer runoff into the river, the impact of transport on the environment, tourism development and new energy generation facilities;

— Risks: there are frequent cases of major floods, droughts, and industrial pollution. Effective responses to these phenomena require a high degree of cooperation and information sharing;

— Socio-economic aspects: The region is characterized by large geographical differences. It includes both successful and poor EU countries. Businesses do not take full advantage of the international reach of marketing, innovation and research; the best personnel often leave the country;

— Security, crime: Human trafficking and smuggling of goods are particularly acute problems in a number of countries. Corruption undermines public trust and holds back development.

And then the EU proposes an Action Plan, which is based on four components: unification of the Danube region, improving mobility, transport links; environmental protection in the Danube region, including preservation of water quality, risk management, landscape conservation; creating a prosperous Danube region - disseminating knowledge through research, education and information technologies, support for competitive enterprises, investment in labor resources; strengthening the Danube region by building institutional capacity and working together to resolve security issues. In addition, the Strategy provides for measures to increase freight traffic on the Danube by 20% by 2020. The European Commission has already allocated 100 billion euros to finance this Strategy.

The Danube Commission, in turn, very much hopes that the European Union will provide significant assistance in solving Danube problems, in particular navigation problems.

In February 2011, the 38th session of the Working Party on the Unification of Technical and Safety Regulations on Inland Waterways took place, which approved the draft UNECE White Paper on efficient and sustainable inland waterways in Europe. The document emphasizes that there is no single inland shipping market in Europe, instead there are separate independent basin shipping companies. The complex regulatory architecture of shipping hinders its development. The document examines the current situation in detail and describes the priorities for the development of inland water transport at the pan-European level.

To sum up, we can conclude that inland water transport in Europe has been experiencing a certain renaissance in recent years, and Russia needs to avoid being left behind in this process. Russia still remains a member of the Danube Commission rather “by inertia”, since, on the one hand, it is no longer a Danube country, and on the other hand, as was clear from the above figures, the share of Russia’s participation in Danube transport is close to zero. Otherwise, Russia will find itself isolated alone with its internal Unified European Water System, which is already in critical condition today.

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France is starting to build a new river navigation canal that will link the Seine with the canal system of Northern Europe. Despite the excellently developed road structure, the EU countries continue to expand the already most extensive network of inland waterways in the world. Even with huge initial investments, these long-term projects pay off. Other countries are also designing new channels, but economic calculations are not always at the forefront.

Unique in the history of canal construction

Seine shipping canal - Northern Europe will connect the Oise, the right tributary of the Seine, with the Dunkirk - Escaut (Scheldt) canal, 620 km long, which was built in the 17th–18th centuries. This man-made system remains the country's most extensive shipping artery, connecting the interior regions of France and Belgium with the English Channel, the North and Baltic seas through the estuary ports of France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

The Seine will now be connected to the northernmost region of France, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, where several rivers flow into the ocean, connected by a network of shipping canals.

Investments in the channel will amount to at least 4.5 billion euros. The EU budget allocates 50% of the cost of pre-design work and 40% of capital costs for construction; the rest is financed by the French treasury and regional budgets. According to preliminary estimates, 13 thousand workers will be needed to build the canal, and its operation will provide up to 50 thousand permanent jobs in logistics and industry.

The project includes the construction of 4 inland ports, 7 checkpoints, 57 bridges, including 2 railway ones. Construction of the canal is scheduled to be completed in 2026. Its length will be 107 km, width - 54 m, depth - 4.5 m. Thanks to it, ships with a deadweight of up to 4,400 tons will be able to sail from Le Havre to Dunkirk, the Benelux countries or to the Rhine, while the current limit is barges with a deadweight of 250 tons. This will allow for a sharp increase in cargo traffic along the water corridor from the current 5 million tons to 13–18 million tons per year. Due to this, half a million trucks will be taken off the highways, and the price of river transportation is two times lower than road transportation.

In addition, this is the most environmentally sound project in the history of canal construction: it will not affect the region’s water resources, since it is planned to autonomously circulate water with intake only to compensate for evaporation. The canal will not affect wetlands; along its entire length it is planned to create backwaters for spawning and rearing of young fish, bypass channels for fish migration, passages for game and beavers. The banks will become a green strip: preparatory work began with the planting of several thousand trees.

Construction will start in 2019, and the first ships on the new waterway could sail as early as 2026.

Channels as a trump card in geopolitics

Today, several large projects for the construction of shipping canals are at the stage of study and development. However, here, in addition to purely economic motivation, the geopolitical interests of individual countries are clearly visible.

The Turkish government is building the Istanbul Canal from the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea through Lake Küçükçekmece - parallel to the current passage through the Bosphorus Strait, which carries up to 150 ships daily. The new 400 m wide canal will be able to accommodate approximately the same number of ships, including those with a deadweight of 14.5 thousand tons. Istanbul itself will actually turn into an island metropolis.

This project carries enormous environmental risks, which the country's government is willing to neglect in comparison with the economic and geopolitical benefits. Turkey will be able to get a route around the Bosphorus, where the movement of warships is regulated by the international Montreux Convention. This dramatically increases Ankara's geopolitical weight. In addition, Turkey will probably be able to redirect to new channel the bulk of commercial traffic and charge fees for its passage.

Saudi Arabia intends to build a 60 km long canal on the isthmus connecting it with Qatar. It is planned to create resort areas, ports, berths for yachts along the banks of the canal, and coastal ships will not need to go around Qatar to get from northern regions countries to the south.

Ukrainian and Russian media regularly talk about the possibility of connecting the Black and Azov Seas. Another surge of interest in the topic was caused by the launch of the Crimean Bridge, which complicates navigation through the Kerch Strait. However, the geopolitical and geo-economic benefits of this channel do not eliminate the environmental, financial and reputational risks.

A shipping canal between these seas once existed: the Perekop moat is its remains. Such a canal could shorten the route between the Mariupol and Berdyansk ports and the western part of the Black Sea by about a thousand kilometers and make Ukrainian ports independent of the situation in the Kerch Strait. However, taking into account the shallow depths in Azov, it will be necessary to deepen the fairway in the water area and at the same time it is necessary to guarantee the canal’s loading. Today's cargo flow may not be enough to pay off the project in the foreseeable future.

In the list of hypothetical projects, you can also find those that can radically change logistics routes in Europe and Asia. For example, the Eurasia Canal project promoted by Kazakhstan between the Caspian and Black Seas along the Manych depression. And the Caspian - Persian Gulf or Caspian - Gulf of Oman waterways on the territory of Iran or India can connect the Caspian and Central Asian regions with the Indian Ocean.

It can be said that a comparison of Eurasian megaprojects for the construction of shipping canals with the French one does not speak in favor of the former, in which politics prevails over economics. The approximate cost of such construction is colossal; economic benefits are offset by risks. And political contradictions between potential participants in these projects minimize the chances of their implementation.