Despite the widespread development and spread of road, rail and air traffic water transport is still one of the most popular ways to move people and goods. What are the reasons for the popularity water transport and what is its advantage over faster brothers?

The spread and reasons for the popularity of water transport

If we are talking about the transportation of goods, then the very low cost of transportation by this type of transport and its ability to transport goods of any size are important here, which is beyond the power of any of the other three competitors. At the same time, in the case of competent training of employees in logistics, the processes of unloading and unloading ships in ports can be made quite fast and efficient, further reducing the cost of transportation. Moreover, water transport irreplaceable where land transportation is impossible - between continents and islands.

The low speed of water transport practically wiped out business passenger transportation, but the centuries-old romance of sea travel contributed to the development of a separate industry of water transport, such as travel on cruise ships. And small water transport, yachts, boats and boats are deservedly popular among amateurs active rest.

Types of water transport

All water transport is divided into two large groups according to the waters used - river and sea. In turn, within each of these groups, all vessels by the type of cargo transported are divided into cargo and passenger.

Sea transport

This group includes all ships capable of moving on the surface of the seas and oceans and performing the functions of carrying goods or passengers. The share of sea transport accounts for the lion's share of cargo transportation in the world, especially large-sized and liquid ones, such as oil, oil products, liquefied gas and chemical products. The main two groups of cargo ships are tankers for the transport of liquid cargo and container ships, which transport all other cargo in universal 20- or 40-foot containers. Less common are more highly specialized seagoing vessels adapted for transportation, for example. cars, cattle or frozen food. The difficulties encountered in the operation of this type of water transport are the need to build large ports equipped with a large number of loading and unloading systems. But with a proper and modern approach to logistics, all these problems can be easily solved, making maritime transport in the right hands one of the most profitable enterprises in the world.

Passenger sea transport is divided into linear ships carrying passengers along strictly defined routes, it is this group that includes ferries operating both between various ports of one of the continents and transoceanic ones, and a cruise fleet, each of whose ships is a city in miniature. Cruise liners capable of carrying several thousand passengers, providing them with the highest level of comfort and safety. A cruise on such a liner leaves an unforgettable experience!

And of course, do not forget about the huge army of private yacht owners, from miniature boats that can hardly accommodate two or three people, to giant yachts of billionaires, in terms of amenities that are not inferior to cruise ships. The romance of sea voyages fanned by centuries, sung in novels about great captains and brave pirates, pulls hundreds and thousands of modern amateur sailors into the sea! All these ships and ships also belong to sea water transport.

River water transport

This group of water transport includes all ships carrying passengers or goods on inland waterways - rivers, lakes or canals. True, there is one interesting exception - although the Caspian Sea is a lake, because of its size, ships plying from its shores are classified as sea transport.

The main advantage of river transport is its low cost, so it is widely used, especially in Western Europe, where France, Belgium and Holland are connected by a wide and branched network of canals, along which hundreds of special small cargo ships - penichets - ply. But due to the low speed of transportation, river transport for the transportation of goods that do not require urgent delivery.

And if in ancient times and in the Middle Ages river ships were very popular among passengers, even among high-ranking ones, such as the Egyptian pharaohs and the ancient Slavic princes, who even went on their last journey on special ones, then in our time, alas, passengers have this type of transport at all not popular. The reason is low speed. If you use ships that can compete in speed with the railway or by car, for example, on an air cushion, here the fuel consumption increases many times and makes the use of these ships unprofitable.

But there is another area in which river vessels have found their recognition today - these are sightseeing boats plying the rivers and canals of European capitals and many beautiful medieval cities. It is impossible to imagine Prague, Venice, Paris or Amsterdam without these, so beloved by tourists and very comfortable river boats. A walk on such a boat, accompanied by an interesting story by the guide and an exquisite buffet table, leaves an unforgettable impression!

River transport carries out transportation of goods and passengers along waterways of natural and artificial origin, and is relevant for local transportation within the borders of the country.

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It takes important place in the transport system of Russia. Most often, freight and passenger traffic takes place along the Volga, Lena, Amur, Yenisei, Ob and Angara.

Statistics

According to general statistics that do not take into account distances, 0.11 percent of the population use inland waterway transport services, which is negligible in comparison with other modes ( public transport- 90.52%, railway - 8.54%).

Mode of transportation	2015		2016
	million people	%	million people	%
Railway	1 024,60	8,29	1 040,00	8,54
Bus	11 221,00	90,78	11 027,40	90,52
Inland water	13,2	0,11	13,1	0,11
By sea	9,6	0,08	13	0,11
Air (transport aviation)	92,1	0,75	88,6	0,73
Total	12 360,50	100,00	12 182,10	100,00

If we take into account the distance of transportation and capacity, then the statistics will not change much: the same 0.11 percent, in comparison with rail (27%) and public (25%) transport.

Mode of transportation	2015		2016
	million passengers	%	million passengers	%
Railway	120 644,20	25,88	124 619,60	27,23
Bus	118 061,50	25,33	116 885,20	25,54
Inland water	492,3	0,11	525,1	0,11
By sea	61,7	0,01	88,1	0,02
Air (transport aviation)	226 849,20	48,67	215 593,90	47,10
Total	466 108,90	100,00	457 711,90	100,00

In general, we can conclude that passenger river transport has a very small share among the popular modes of transport, surpassing only the sea. There is a trend towards an increase in the number of passengers using this type of transport, but it is not significant.

In the transportation of useful resources to remote riverside areas, this type of transport plays a more important role.

Inland waterway transport has been teetering on the brink of unprofitability for many years: longstanding problems with the financing of the industry have played a huge role in this.

Most of the ships currently in use are obsolete, still Soviet. At the moment, only a quarter of the hydraulic structures are in a normal state, which allows to ensure the safety of transportation.

Advantages and disadvantages

Despite the sad statistics described above, river transport has enough advantages and remains relevant today.

The advantages of this type of movement are the following:

1. The paths of natural origin are used: they do not require such costs as for the construction of roads or the laying of rails.
2. The cost of transportation is cheaper than using trains.
3. Energy consumption is less than that of land transport.
4. High carrying capacity.

But, river transportation also has negative sides. Among them are:

1. Low travel speed.
2. Seasonal: irrelevant when rivers freeze or shallow (depending on the climate of the region). In the northern regions, 120-150 days a year are used, in the southern regions - 200-240, in regions with a mixed climate - something in between.
3. The use is limited by the format of the rivers: tortuosity, direction, length.
4. Strongly dependent on weather conditions.
5. River pollution.
6. Staggered depth; leads to additional passes when using large vessels.

Rules for the safe delivery of children by river

In any case, when traveling on water with children, do not forget about the safety rules and official instructions reflecting the rules of conduct when traveling on water:

1. First, the basic rules will be the same for both adults and children.
2. Ensure that the ship has evacuation instructions, an exit plan, and the location of lifejackets and lifeboats. In the absence of them, it is not recommended to use this water transport.
3. Once on board the ship, you enter the territory controlled by the ship's crew, including its captain. Observe their instructions and disciplinary responsibilities. Your safety and sailing will depend entirely on the crew on board.
4. After settling in the cabin, carefully read the instructions regarding the safety of passengers and the vessel again.
5. Make sure your swim vest is available and fit for use. Read the instructions for use beforehand so that emergencies do not catch you by surprise.
6. It is worth making sure that the vessel is completely ready for work and from the documentary side, and has all the necessary licenses. It is worth finding out whether and

Do not forget that when you buy a ticket, you are entering into a contract with the company that owns the boat.

If we take the rules relating specifically to passengers with children, the following points can be highlighted (according to and):

1. Children under 5 years old have the right to free travel (one child), and children from 5 to 10 years old - to reduced travel rates (Inland Waterway Transport Code).
2. Minors under 14 years of age are not entitled to travel without being accompanied by a capable passenger. (Chapter 1, clause 8, Order of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation of 05.05.2012 No. 140).
3. There must be children's individual lifejackets on board, one for each child on board. (Chapter 1, clause 12, Order of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation of 05.05.2012 N 140).

Separately, you can take out the requirements from the Rules for the provision of services for the carriage of passengers, baggage, cargo for personal (household) needs in inland water transport, approved.

According to this Decree, an accompanying person with a child under 7 years old can use the services of a mother and child room:

• sleeping places and bed linen for a child and an adult;
• acceptance of extraordinary orders for all types of services provided;
• use of a bath, shower, towels and other bathing accessories;
• health care;
• provision of children's games.

bypassing these rules is:

Passenger river transportation along the Volga

Passenger transportation by river transport is in demand on large rivers, including the Volga.

They are mainly used for:

1. River cruises: boat trips and speedboats.
2. Passenger traffic: in some settlements this way is the only way to come.

Major ports and transshipment points on such routes will be:

• Moscow;
• Yaroslavl;
• Kostroma;
• Kaluga;
• Kolomna;
• Serpukhov;
• Rybinsk;
• Samara.

The main passenger flows are concentrated in the Volga-Kama river basin. River terminals of cities in this area offer many options for intracity, transit, local and commuter destinations trips along the Volga by transport, both simple and tourist.

The longest lines are Moscow - Astrakhan / Perm / Rostov / Ufa:

The largest river station is the capital.

In the Volga-Vyatka basin, the largest river terminals are located in the following cities:

• Nizhny Novgorod;
• Volgograd;
• Moscow;
• Permian;
• Astrakhan;
• Kazan;
• Yaroslavl.

The main ports in the Volga basin:

• Kalininsky;
• Cherepovetsky;
• Rybinsky;
• Yaroslavsky;
• Gorkovsky;
• Kazansky;
• Ulyanovsky;
• Kuibyshevsky;
• Saratov;
• Volgograd;
• Astrakhan;
• Permian.

The cost

River transportation prices vary greatly, depending on the distance and duration of the journey, ending with the number of stops. Also, the price is strongly influenced by the type of trip - tourism or simple transportation. Plus, the price for each kg of baggage is added to the ticket price:

A simple trip will cost about t 60 to several hundred rubles, with tourist and recreational flights, the situation is more interesting. Depending on the format and content of the trip, prices vary from 5 to tens of thousands of rubles.

For example, the fare on the Krasnoyarsk - Dudinka route will be from 7 to 30 thousand rubles(depending on the category of the piece and the weight of the baggage).

How to choose the best value for money? Consider the following points:

1. Decide what is more important for you - comfort or the price of travel, because depending on the level of the cabin, the payment can differ 4 times.
2. Seasonal discounts, especially with pre-booked reservations. The earlier you buy a ticket, the cheaper it will cost you, and the easier it will be to choose the most comfortable option.
3. It is worth examining the available offers from the companies carrying out the ferry and choosing the most optimal option.
4. The choice of the ship on which you have to sail. Today, in Russia there are ships with 2-4 decks, the number of which depends on the vessel's capacity. For some, the large size will be a plus, but since this leads to an increase in the number of people on board, this option is not suitable for everyone.
5. Examine the photos of the vessel, the interior, read reviews on different sites to make sure that there is sufficient comfort on the territory.
6. Tourism and crossings usually peak in June-July, causing a spike in cruise prices. Try to look at the tariffs in May or August - the demand will be lower, as will the price of the issue. You can, of course, try to pick up a ticket for October and April - but the weather is unlikely to contribute to a comfortable travel.
7. The choice of direction and length of the trip also plays an important role:
   • Surprising as it may be, but the road Moscow - St. Petersburg, Moscow - Arkhangelsk and, for example, Naryan-Mar - Salekhard will differ significantly in price.
   • The main thing in this point is to decide on the city of departure, because the prices for the route depend on it.
   • In addition, due to the fact that large waterways in our country flow either from north to south or from south to north, it is not always possible to find a direct river path even with nearby cities, for example Khabarovsk and Birobidzhan.

Compensation for damages

Passenger transportation by this method is regulated by the 2001 “Code of Inland Water Transport of the Russian Federation”.

According to this doc:

1. The carrier bears full responsibility for passengers and accepted baggage, from the moment of boarding until the moment they leave at their destination.
2. Losses, damage or incomplete delivery of things, committed through the fault of the crew, must be compensated to the passenger, as well as the payment for the carriage of cargo in full, if the carrier does not prove that the loss was the result of circumstances beyond his control.
3. Baggage will be considered lost if it does not arrive at its destination within 30 days after the appointed date.
4. Also, the carrier is responsible for the lives of passengers and the safety of the vessel.

Transport companies

Sea transport is important primarily because it provides a significant part of Russia's foreign trade relations. Domestic transportation (cabotage) is essential only for the supply of the northern and eastern coasts of the country. The share of sea transport in cargo turnover is 8%, although the mass of transported goods is less than 1% of the total. This ratio is achieved due to the longest average distance of transportation - about 4.5 thousand km... Passenger transportation by sea is insignificant.

Globally sea ​​transport ranks first in terms of cargo turnover, standing out for the minimum transportation of goods. In Russia, it is relatively underdeveloped, since the main economic centers of the country are far from the sea coasts. In addition, most of the seas surrounding the country's territory are freezing, which makes the use of sea transport more expensive. A serious problem is outdated fleet of the country... Most of the ships were built more than 20 years ago and should be decommissioned by world standards. There are practically no ships modern types: gas carriers, lighter carriers, container carriers, horizontal loading and unloading vessels, etc. There are only 11 large seaports on the territory of Russia, which is not enough for a country of this scale. About half of Russian cargo transported by sea is served by ports of other states. These are mainly the ports of the former Soviet republics: Odessa (Ukraine), Ventspils (Latvia), Tallinn (Estonia), Klaipeda (Lithuania). The use of seaports of other states leads to financial losses. To solve this problem, new ports are being built on the coasts of the Baltic and Black Seas.

The Far Eastern basin is currently the leading sea basin in terms of cargo turnover. Its main ports are the rarely freezing Vladivostok and Nakhodka. A modern port of Vostochny with terminals for the export of coal and timber was built near Nakhodka. The port of Vanino, located on the final section of the Baikal-Amur railway, is also of great importance. A ferry operates in this port, connecting the railway network of mainland Russia with the network of Sakhalin Island (port of Kholmsk).

The Northern Basin is in second place in terms of cargo turnover. The main ports in it are Murmansk (non-freezing, although located beyond the Arctic Circle) and Arkhangelsk (timber export, both sea and river). Large ports also operate at the mouth of the Yenisei. These are Dudinka, through which ore concentrates are exported from Norilsk, and Igarka, through which timber and forest products are transported. The section of the Northern Sea Route between the mouth of the Yenisei and Murmansk is operating year-round, which is ensured by the use of powerful icebreakers, including nuclear-powered ones. Navigation east of the mouth of the Yenisei is carried out only 2-3 months in the summer

The third most important is the Baltic basin. The main ports in it are St. Petersburg (freezing) and Kaliningrad (non-freezing). The use of the convenient Kaliningrad port is difficult, since it is separated from the main part of Russia by the territories of foreign states. There is a small port of Vyborg near St. Petersburg, through which mainly timber goods are transported. The ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk are under construction.

The Cheriomorsko-Azov basin is in fourth place in terms of cargo turnover. There are two ice-free oil export ports here - Novorossiysk (the most powerful in Russia) and Tuapse. The sea transport also includes transportation on the Caspian Sea. The largest here are the ports of Astrakhan (both sea and river) and Makhachkala, through which mainly oil cargoes go.

River transport

River transport (or inland waterway) was the main one in Russia until the end of the 19th century... Currently, its significance is small - about 2% of cargo turnover and weight of transported goods... Although it is a cheap form of transport, it has serious drawbacks. The main thing is that the directions of the flow of rivers often do not coincide with the directions of transportation of goods. Expensive canals have to be built to connect adjacent river basins. On the territory of Russia, river transport is a seasonal mode of transport, since rivers freeze over for several months a year. The total length of navigable river routes in Russia is 85 thousand km. 3/4 of the cargo currently transported by river transport in Russia is mineral construction materials. Carriage of passengers by river transport is insignificant, as well as by sea.

More than half of the cargo turnover of the country's river transport falls on the Volga-Kama basin. It is connected by canals with neighboring basins (Don, Neva, Northern Dvina, White Sea), being the basis of the Unified deep-water system of the European part of the country. The largest river ports are also located here: Nizhny Novgorod, North, South and West in Moscow, Kazan, Samara, Volgograd, Astrakhan. In second place in terms of cargo turnover is the West Siberian basin, which includes the Ob with its tributaries. In addition to construction materials, oil cargoes account for a significant share in transportation. The main ports are Novosibirsk, Tobolsk, Surgut, Labytnangi, Tyumen. The third in Russia is the Northern Dvina basin with the Sukhona and Vychegda tributaries. Timber cargo constitutes a significant share in the transportation. The main ports are Arkhangelsk and Kotlas.

River transport is of great importance in the northeastern part of Russia, where there are virtually no other types of transport networks. The main amount of cargo is delivered to these territories in summer either from the south of the railway (along the Yenisei from Krasnoyarsk, along the Lena from Ust-Kut), or from the mouths of the rivers, where the cargo is delivered by sea.

Russia has a large-scale water transport infrastructure: thirteen seas and more than 100 thousand km of navigable rivers. During the period of radical transformations in politics and economy, the country's fleet practically did not develop. In the 90s, the question of the need to revive the domestic merchant fleet was raised, today the time has come to revive the passenger fleet. Analysts believe that the maintenance of river routes requires 50 times less investment than road and railways... Important factors are that water transport is hundreds of times safer than road transport, and their impact on the environment is minimal, which is especially important in densely populated regions. As for passenger transportation by inland waterway transport, as of January 1, 2017, 1,656 vessels of various purposes and types were registered in the Russian River Register of Shipping. Average age high-speed vessels river park is 26 years or more. The main projects of this group of vessels are: Raketa type (project 340 with modifications, passenger capacity 60-65 people), Meteor type (project 342 with modifications, passenger capacity 120 people), Voskhod type (project 352 with modifications, passenger capacity 70 people), type "Zarya" (project 946 and R-83, passenger capacity 60-66 people). All of these ships were built during the Soviet years; in the early 90s, their construction was discontinued. In 2006, the first planing type vessel of the A45 Lena project was built (passenger capacity 150). The vessels of this project were intended to replace the outdated fleet of high-speed hydrofoils. In the period 2008-2013. 4 vessels were built according to the modified project A45-1: "Yeniseisk", "Krasnoyarsk", "Ivan Nazarov", "Mikhail Godenko". The vessels of these projects are characterized by a shallow draft (0.6 m in planing mode), high maneuverability, and, consequently, the ability to approach an unequipped shore, which ensured the greatest efficiency in the vessel's performance of its functions. According to the list of government orders, it was planned to commission about 80 cargo and passenger ships in 2016. But due to a lack of financial resources, the shipyard of the Zelenodolsk shipyard named after A.M. Gorky, where the production of ships of a new type was organized, experienced enormous difficulties in producing the required volume of ships. In fact, in 2016, 67% of the vessels of the domestic passenger fleet were repaired, 25% required overhaul, 2.5% were written off, 1% was purchased from other countries, 2% were produced by domestic shipyards. Today, the state of the Russian passenger fleet for domestic traffic is critical. The average age of passenger ships for local lines is 36 years (table 1). Table 1 State of the passenger fleet in the Russian Federation as of 01.01.2017 * (local lines) Project Quantity, units Average age, years R-51, R51E, R-51EK, R-51EA "Moscow" 226 29 544, 544SH, 544P "Moskvich" 128 55.5 780, 780-03 "OM" 106 49.9 81080, 81080A " Moskovsky 27 23 839, 839A MO 44 49.3 331 11 49.6 R-35 Neva 6 38 2646 / R-51EK 5 28 NVS-496 (China) 6 4.3 623 7 49.3 * Source: materials of ZAO TsNIIMF The largest shipowners of river passenger vessels for local lines: JSC Passenger Port (Moscow), JSC Volgograd River Port, JSC Amur Shipping Company, JSC Tatflot. The river cruise fleet is represented by motor ships of projects 588, 302, 301, 26-37, 92-016, etc. Ships of project 588 are three-deck passenger (cargo-passenger) long-distance motor ships built in the GDR. The class of the vessel according to the Russian River Register is “O”. Passenger capacity - up to 230 people. In total, 49 motor ships were built from 1954 to 1964. Most of the ships are still in operation after reconstruction and modernization, which took place in the late 1990s - early 2000s. As of August 2016, 30 cruise ships of this type are in operation in the Russian Federation. Eleven vessels have been taken out of service, some of them are undergoing modernization. The rest of the ships were written off in different years... Ships of project 301 are four-deck motor ships built in the GDR in 1974-1983. Passenger capacity - up to 360 people. The lead ship is Vladimir Ilyich (currently St. Petersburg). The class of the vessel according to the Russian River Register is “O”. In total, 22 vessels of three different series of this type were built. Today, the vessels of this project, after modernization, make tourist cruises between Moscow and St. Petersburg, along the Volga. Ships of project 302 (a modernized continuation of project 301) are four-deck passenger ships built in Germany in 1983-1992. Passenger capacity - up to 332 people. The class of the vessel according to the Russian River Register is "M (ice)", which makes it possible to operate these vessels in broken ice Ladoga and Onega lakes. The lead vessel of the series, Dmitry Furmanov, was launched in 1983. In total, 27 motor ships of this project were built, of which 2 motor ships of project 302M, 4 motor ships of project 302MK, differ in elements of external decoration and increased comfort. The last three motor ships of project 302MK were sold to China in the early 90s. The rest of the vessels of this project continue to operate mainly on the Moscow - St. Petersburg route. Project 26-37 vessels are three-deck motor ships built in Czechoslovakia in 1957-1962. The project is almost identical to project 588. In total, 54 vessels of this project were built. The lead ship is the October Revolution. In the 2000s, most of the ships underwent modernization in order to increase their comfort. As of August 2016, 34 vessels are in service. Ships of project 92-016 are four-deck motor ships, built in Czechoslovakia in 1976-1983. Passenger capacity - up to 360 people. All 9 motor ships of this project are still in operation and belong to the Volga Shipping Company (tour operator "Vodokhod"). Passenger ships and ferries occupy a separate niche in sea transport. Most often they are linear. On the part of the regulatory authorities, very high requirements are imposed on them in terms of design and supply. At the beginning of 2016, the Russian marine passenger fleet consisted of 39 vessels with an average age of 26.7 years. In terms of numbers, the most representative is the group of landless vessels: passenger displacement vessels, hydrofoils (HFVs), and catamarans. The deadweight of these vessels is 14-80 tons. The average age is 26 years. They mainly work on local lines of coastal navigation in the Far East and Southern Basin... This group is represented by four vessels: Polaris (built in 1968), Klavdiya Elanskaya (1977), Belomorye (1980), Anna Akhmatova (1988). Cargo and passenger ships: "Gipanis" (1992), "Igor Farkhutdinov" (1991). They transport passengers between points in the Northern and Far Eastern basins. The domestic cruise fleet is represented by seven converted research vessels, the passenger capacity of which ranges from 45 to 117 people. Ice strengthening class according to the classification of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping - Arc4 and Arc5. All Russian expeditionary cruise ships were built in the 80s and, even with the re-equipment, do not meet modern requirements for safety, comfort and efficiency. Having a small passenger capacity and outdated equipment, they are inferior to the existing and under construction modern cruise fleet of foreign companies. The ship owners - Russian scientific organizations - have been leasing these ships to foreign companies for many years. Each such vessel performs 10 to 20 voyages per year in regions with difficult ice conditions (Arctic, Far East, Antarctica). The analysis of sea passenger traffic in the Russian Federation over the past eleven years has shown a steady decline in their volumes (Table 2). Table 2 Sea passenger traffic in the Russian Federation for 2004-2016 Indicators Years 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 2015 2016 Traffic volume, mln. Pass. 4.4 5.5 0.7 9.6 1.5 9.9 7.8 6.5 4.1 3.6 2.5 Passenger turnover, million pass-km 73.1 84.2 51.9 15 , 4 55.7 84.0 76.0 68.7 80.0 36.1 29.3 According to official data for the period from 2008 to 2016 the volume of passenger traffic by sea decreased 5 times. This is due to a number of sectoral factors and reasons: 1. On inland waterway transport. a) Passenger traffic (transit, local, suburban): - outdated low-comfort passenger fleet; - decommissioning of ships due to the tightening of safety requirements for passenger transportation; - more high tariffs at a lower speed of delivery in certain directions compared to alternative modes of transport; - lack of a flexible tariff system that responds to the state of the competitive environment; - low guaranteed depths on the runway during the low-water period of navigation, which does not allow using the fleet at full load; - the lack of illuminated conditions on the GDP during dark nights, which reduces the use of the fleet; - limited funding from local budgets to cover losses on social passenger transportation; shortage of qualified personnel; - underdeveloped port infrastructure for passenger transportation; - low quality of services provided to passengers. b) Tourist and excursion-pleasure transportation: - lack of modern comfortable cruise fleet; - insufficiently developed tourist infrastructure; constant growth in cruise fares; - insufficient promotion of the national tourism product; - the quality of the provided tourist services does not meet the modern requirements of passengers. 2. By sea transport. a) Transportation of passengers on local lines: - lack of a modern passenger displacement and high-speed fleet; - higher tariffs at a lower speed of delivery in certain directions in comparison with alternative modes of transport; - underdeveloped port infrastructure for passenger transportation; - low quality of services provided to passengers. b) Cruise shipping: - lack of a modern cruise fleet; - insufficiently developed tourist infrastructure; - constant growth of cruise tariffs; - insufficient promotion of the national tourism product; - the quality of the provided tourist services does not meet the modern requirements of passengers; lack of competition in the Russian tourist market. As statistics show, excursion and pleasure boats are mainly built. As a result, there is a shortage of modern ships for the transport of passengers on local lines and cruise shipping. The reasons that hinder the renewal of the passenger fleet include the following: - high construction cost of ships, especially cruise ships; - long term payback of the project for the construction of a passenger ship; - the impossibility of reducing the cost of a river vessel by increasing its passenger capacity due to the limited dimensions of inland waterways; - a limited period of use of river tourist vessels (up to five months in the central basins); - limited opportunities in the creation of new routes for water tourism in Russia; - shortcomings of the methodological substantiation of the existing system of tariff setting for passenger transportation by water transport; - decrease in demand for river services passenger transport due to the unsatisfactory condition of the port infrastructure (berths, train stations). Measures taken to enhance the development of passenger water transport can be as follows: - Setting acceptable tariffs for water transport. - Renovation of onshore facilities as the use of ships for local traffic directly depends on the condition of the piers, sea and river stations and others. - Intensification of the construction of ships on the basis of leasing (the method is ineffective, since large financial investments are required for starting buildings). - Renewal of the passenger fleet by purchasing ships. The unsatisfactory condition and non-compliance of many vessels with the Register requirements attracted the attention of the executive authorities. Recently, new volumes of government orders have appeared, funds have been allocated for the reconstruction of coastal structures. So, as part of the project to create a passenger transport hub"Arctic harbor", completed work on the construction of the sea terminal in Murmansk. The measures taken give hope that the volume of passenger traffic by water transport in Russia will nevertheless increase and, at least, reach the same volumes.

3. HISTORY OF WATER TRANSPORT

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

In modern terms, water transport is an industrial and technological complex that includes the fleet, waterways, ports and ship repair enterprises.

By the type of water areas used, water transport is subdivided into river and nautical... Sea-going vessels must be seaworthy, that is, the ability not to collapse or sink in waves. Sea-going vessels are, as a rule, larger than river vessels. Transportation by lakes is usually referred to as river transport (with the exception of the largest lakes such as the Caspian Sea). Although now these differences are erased, since river operators are widely introducing vessels of mixed "river-sea" navigation. Such vessels can leave through river estuaries into the sea, sail along it to ports located on it, or enter the estuaries of other rivers.

Ports (sea and river) serve for loading and unloading cargo, sea and river terminals are built for passengers.

The main advantage of water transport is low energy consumption, they are 6 times less than for transportation by rail and 25 times less than for transportation by road. An illustrative example was given by the famous French engineer J.E. Lamblardi, who was famous in the late 18th and early 19th centuries:

“Five boatmen can carry at a certain time along the canal such a weight that, at the same time and for the same distance, would require 83 horses and with them 21 guides. But since a part of the land sown to feed one horse can feed 8 people, therefore, without considering other costs, the ratio of costs when transporting by water and dry will be as 1: 137 ”.

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

The speed of movement in water transport is relatively low, but it has a high throughput and a very low cost of transportation; in addition, it allows you to transport almost any oversized cargo.

The high carrying capacity of water transport can be illustrated by such an example. Suppose it is necessary 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. To deliver this cargo by water transport, one cargo motor ship "Volgo-Don" will be required, on which the cargo will be delivered in one day by one voyage. For delivery by road, 500 trips of the KamAZ-53212 vehicle will be required. Its speed is 3 - 4 times higher than the speed of a motor 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 the current standards, the entire cargo will be transported in 250 days, in the presence of 2 cars - in 125 days, 10 cars - in 25 days, etc., that is, much slower than 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 other modes of transport. And although at present, water transport is almost not used for business passenger transportation (due to low speeds), but it is very popular among tourists and in general outdoor enthusiasts. Large tourist ships and a wide variety of boats, yachts and boats are also used.

The paths along the 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, vessels generally need a depth of at least 1.2 m to pass.

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

Most vessels 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 for the transport of passengers and cargo (cargo and passenger), but the bulk of the vessels are specialized in the carriage of goods. There are four main types of marine vessels:

1) cargo ships (dry cargo, tanker, 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 a post office and luggage compartment;

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

Some more features and benefits of water transport. The weight of the rolling stock (container) transported with the 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) on water transport is 2 - 3 times less than on rail. Water transport, subject to environmental and sanitary rules, has a minimal negative impact on the environment.

IN depending on the mode of navigation water pools are divided into:

basins with a maritime navigation regime, where the International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea are in force;

basins with inland navigation, where the Rules for Navigation on Inland Waterways are in force;

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 flooded 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 - rivers in their natural state, 11 thousand km - lakes and 16 thousand km - artificial waterways ...

Waterways, in terms of their dimensions, that is, dimensions, should ensure the navigation of ships of the largest (calculated) dimensions.

By ship(earlier it was called the fairway, now this name remained only in navigation) is the underwater and surface space on the shipping route, intended for navigation and indicated on the map or on the ground. The dimensions of the fairway are its depth, width, above-water height, limited by structures (bridges, transmission lines), and the radius of curvature. The most important characteristic of the waterway is the guaranteed navigable depth. As a rule, other dimensions of waterways are much easier to provide both on natural and artificial waterways.

Inland waterways for transport purposes are subdivided 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 all navigation at the lowest water levels.

History

Since ancient times, people have used natural reservoirs - rivers, lakes and coastal areas of the seas - as routes of communication. At the same time, hydrotechnical works have been carried out for a long time to develop water transport communications.

The emergence of transport dates back to ancient times. In a primitive economy, when only the beginnings of a social division of labor appear, the need for transport is small. The means of transport are primitive - trodden paths, packs, rollers for especially heavy loads, hollowed out tree trunks or canopy, later shuttles. In the era of the slave economy, built on the exploitation of slave labor, transport takes a step forward in its development. The slave-owning states waged numerous wars for the conquest of other countries, receiving tribute from them, capturing slaves. The military and management needs required the development of transport. In China, Persia, the Roman Empire, a large number of paved roads were built for military purposes. Exchange, trade in slaves, bread, fabrics, and spices gradually increased. City-states arose on the Mediterranean: Phenicia, Carthage and others, in which trade played an important role. Maritime shipping developed, rowing and then sailing ships appeared.

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

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

I period - from the inception of seaworthiness to the appearance of sails. The people of the Stone Age, who understood the importance of rivers and seas in their lives and began to get the mollusks and other marine animals available to them, in the end, 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 made a big step forward after the creation in the 5th - 4th millennia BC. e. sails - the most amazing discovery that has helped sailors for more than 6 thousand years and made a decisive impact on the development of seaworthiness.

II period - from the appearance of the sail to the first coastal voyages within the same sea basin. Improvement in shipbuilding 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 in the service of seaworthiness. In the 1st millennium BC. e. the first distant sea voyages are carried out. Shipbuilding technology has improved significantly.

Ancient Egypt

The full-flowing Nile overflows its banks at the end of July and returns to its course only after three months. During a period of high water, the lower course of the river turned into a huge lake area and communication between the 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 come down to 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 in shipyards, about building materials, about sailing routes and about battles at sea.

The population of the fertile and peculiar country was rapidly increasing, and very early in its midst the tsarist power became an expression of unity and nationality. The first among the kings of the local historians-priests mentioned Mina, who, it is assumed, began to reign in 3892 BC. e. He is considered the founder of Memphis, a city that was built on the Nile, at the very exit from the valley, in the place where it branches into two branches of the delta. For millennia, this city has been 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 outside. During the same millennium, South (or Upper) Egypt gradually begins to emerge from the darkness. At its head is a city built a hundred miles above Memphis on the Nile, the so-called Thebes (Uisa), which is the second famous center of Egyptian life. Perhaps these two separate kingdoms, Memphis and Thebes, existed 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 merged, and a number of pharaohs continued to peacefully rule a country that 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 3.5-2 thousand years BC for trade with Mediterranean cities. e. For the transportation of large loads, the Egyptians created special flat-bottomed ships - barges. They achieved the required longitudinal strength thanks to the devices 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 sea expeditions to Syria. The harbors of the Red Sea received ships with a variety of goods from the eastern countries: India, China, Arabia.

Expeditions to the country of Punt (Somalia, East Africa) were well armed. Gold, stone vessels, faience 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 guard against pirates, the Egyptian pharaohs had special warships. In the III century BC. e. in Egypt, a forty-rowed ship (tessarokontera) was built. He had two bows and two sterns, several rams. The vessel was 280 feet long and 38 feet deep. The ship housed 4,000 rowers, 3,000 crew members and 400 servants. The oars were filled with lead, which facilitated the work of the rowers. The finds of archaeologists in the dead city of Saqqara gave historians a diagram of the technological process of the Egyptians making their ships: the reliefs captured successively different stages of construction: the hull is made of planks; caulk with cane and tow; the rope is wrapped around the vessel along the height of the upper planking belt.

For example, here is how Pharaoh Ramses III proudly broadcasts to 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 Egyptian goods innumerable. And they themselves, numbering in tens of thousands, were sent to the great Mu-Ked (Red) sea. They reach the country of Punt (Somalia). They are not endangered, being whole because of fear. "(Obviously in front of the great pharaoh).

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

I period (pre-dynastic, 5,300 - 3,500 BC). Papyrus rowing boats of a month-shaped profile, wide, flat-bottomed with shallow draft. They were made from bundles of papyrus, which were woven into curved mats with raised ends. To connect the papyrus into bundles and mats, papyrus ropes were used. The steering oar was installed in the stern. Already on these early structures, the ancient shipbuilders used a rectangular sail on a mast, fixed with cable cables. In the absence of sufficiently strong spars, instead of a mast, two-legged trestles with a horizontal short yarn served, on which a narrow high sail was attached. In addition to the sail, lanceolate oars, numbering from 8 to 26 on each side, also served for the movement; to steer the vessel were used from 2 to 5 oars on each side in the stern. Reed as a shipbuilding material began to be used in Egypt, because this country is extremely poor in forest. That is why on the Nile ships from tree trunks in the form of single trees could not appear first, as it happened in places rich in forest. Since the main technological operation in the manufacture of a ship in those days was the binding of reed stalks and mats collected from them, then even in later times the Egyptians spoke not of building, but of tying ships. In the sailing ships of the Egyptians, the bow and stern were additionally pulled together with a rope, which created a more rigid and durable structure. On the Isthmus of Suez, the conditional geographical border of Africa and Asia, the Egyptians discovered the "Great Blackness" - a system of bitter-salt 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 XXVI century BC. e. Pharaoh Sahura built the first shipyard.

On ships intended for long-distance crossings, there were cabins woven from reed. 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 basin of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. There is an assumption that such ships sailed not only on rivers, but also on the sea. In this respect, such facts are interesting. An image of a reed vessel from the time of the Minoan civilization (III - II millennium BC) was found near the island of Crete and on one of the Argolic islands, that is, far from navigable rivers.

In 1969, the Norwegian scientist Thor Heyerdahl made an interesting attempt to test the hypothesis that a sailboat, made from papyrus reeds, could sail not only on the Nile, but also on the high seas. 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 straight sail, was steered by a steering oar. The initial attempt by Thor Heyerdahl and his companions to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a papyrus ship to America failed. However, the possibility of long-distance sea navigation received undoubted confirmation, which prompted the scientist to undertake a second attempt in 1970, which was crowned with complete success.

II period (the era of the dynasties of the pharaohs 3200 - 2240 BC). In Egypt, wooden shipbuilding appeared and began to develop. Externally, the wooden boat was the "sister" of its papyrus predecessor - the same "orange peel" profile, raised ends and a flat bottom. Planks were obtained by sawing twisted trunks from acacia and fig trees. The length of these vessels is 25–30 m, width is 3.5–4.0 m. An image of a similar vessel was found in the tomb of Pharaoh Sahur in Memphis. Structural features of ships: an internal keel, cross-members were attached to it, and to the latter - sheathing on wooden knits. Sheathing and fastenings of ties were almost literally “sewn on” with the help of ropes. For cladding, short planks of low-growing acacia were used. To strengthen the hull, a braided rope was running around the sides, and the bow and stern were tied with a central rope on the racks, which was twisted like a spring with the help of transverse struts. Thus, even in those ancient times, shipbuilders found a progressive method of prestressed construction. At the same time, the rope method of fastening is seen as a continuity in shipbuilding technology with the period of reed shipbuilding. A two-legged detachable 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 in modern canoes). An internal longitudinal keel with powerful cross sections, the so-called traverses, passed from bow to stern of the boat. Sheathing boards were attached to the traverses, which were installed on spikes. Due to the lack of long boards and an outer keel, the ship became too fragile for testing by sea waves, because of which its hull along the entire length along the sides had to be wrapped with a cable. To protect the hull from kinking, the bow and stern were bursting with transverse beams. Another cable was stretched between them, which rested on vertical posts with a fork.

Egyptian ship from the Old Kingdom, Dynasty V, 2550 BC e. Drawing from the tomb of Pharaoh Sahor, Memphis

Egyptian reed ship

The vessel had a primitive quadrangular sail, with which it could only sail with the wind. Due to the modest control capabilities, the Egyptians did not pin much hopes on the sail, and therefore their sea vessels, like the Nile boats, remained rowing for a long time. The only collapsing two-legged mast, which, if necessary, was lowered, was held by the stays. The sail, unusually high and narrow, was attached to the yard. The armament of the vessel was completed by rowing oars, as well as one or more rudders, firmly fixed in the oarlocks at the stern. Placing the usual paddle on the gunwale, the Egyptians made the oar work according to the principle of a lever. The ship was propelled by significantly less muscular effort, which was immediately recognized as very profitable and taken into account by the next generations of shipbuilders. It is difficult to say exactly when the full transition from row to paddle took place. Found on Egyptian monuments, bas-reliefs depicting the first forty-oared ships, refer us to 2800 - 2000 BC. e.

Seagoing merchant ship of Egypt

III period ( times of the New Kingdom, from the II millennium BC. BC). Following the example of the Phoenicians, who were famous for their ship craftsmanship, the Egyptians began to use tall conifers, specially imported for this purpose from Lebanon. The beams hewn out of their long trunks gave the hull more strength.

The profile of the vessel became noticeably sharper, the bow and stern were raised even higher. The tying belt is a thing of the past, but in order to avoid buckling of the ship, shipbuilders still continued to pull the cable between the beams on 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 attached not 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. The hulls are made of long planks, which allow for greater strength in new ships. Also, the external strapping of the rope disappears; the longitudinal tie-rope and inner keel, bow and stern beams (stem and sternpost) have been preserved; a straight sail was installed on the mast on two yards (with bent ends); a stone with a hole for a rope served as an anchor (The image of such a vessel was preserved in the Hatshepsut temple in Deir el-Bahri.).

Based on ancient Egyptian bas-reliefs, the famous Swedish scientist, historian of the fleet V. Lundstrem restored the appearance of an Egyptian warship of the 1200s BC. e. It had a rather elongated hull with a strong transverse set, resting on a powerful keel bar, which made it possible to abandon the longitudinal rope tie, so typical for merchant ships. The keel bar in the bow ended with a metal ram in the form of an animal's head.

Sea-going merchant ship of Egypt (1500s BC)

On the far protruding sternpost, one, but large, steering oar was attached. Additional strength to the hull was given by cans from side to side. The rowers were covered from arrows by an 80-centimeter bulwark. At the ends of the ship, fenced platforms for archers were rigidly attached, which were located, in addition, in a wicker basket on the top of the mast. Egyptian archers, armed with long-range (defeat 150 - 160 m) bows, were the main striking force of the Egyptian warship. The length of such vessels ranged from 30 to 40 m.

The development of sea trade in Ancient Egypt led to the improvement of ship designs. The bow and stern beams appeared. Spikes were made on them, where the sheathing boards entered. The bow overhang was reduced, the steering oars were increased and secured in strong oarlocks. However, due to the still insufficient longitudinal strength, the body was pulled together with a rope on special supports. There were small areas on the bow and stern. A mast with a square sail and two yards bent at the ends made up the sail rig. A stone tied with a rope served as an anchor. 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, obelisks. Small pegs-oarlocks were attached along the gunwales of the sides, to which short oars with spear-shaped blades were tied.

Having begun to build giant ships back in the time of Queen Hatshepsut (1500 BC), the ancient Egyptians became, perhaps, the first shipbuilders who seriously "fell ill" with gigantomania.

The queen was actively involved in temple construction, to help which huge ships were intended. At her behest, a transport vessel with a displacement of 1.5 thousand tons was created, having a length of 63 m, a width of 21 m, a side height of 6 m and a draft of 2 m.Bottom stringers were assembled from thick beams that went from one rod 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 - to transport two 350-ton granite obelisks from the rocks of Aswan to the holy city of Thebes along the Nile. Moving forward, however, was rather difficult for him: the vessel was pulled in tow by boats, and only four steering oars in the stern were installed on it. The growth of the 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. So, according to the letters left by contemporaries of these distant events, Egypt's response to the construction of the oar giant "Syracuseanca" with a displacement of 4.2 thousand tons was a huge at that time multi-tiered vessel 128 m long with 4 thousand rowers. Its width reached 17 m, the height of the bow and stern above the water was 22 m, and the displacement was 3 thousand tons. The mast had a height of about 40 m, while the length of the upper tier oars reached 19 m.

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

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

It was found disassembled in a trench cut in limestone, apparently, to save space, it was dismantled. 650 pieces were neatly arranged in 13 layers and covered with rubble. The reconstruction of this vessel lasted 16 years and ended only in 1968. The crescent-shaped hull of the ship with a displacement of 40 tons had a length of 43.4 m and 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 "flat-bottomed boat" »Sewn construction. However, in the grooves of the longitudinal beam-keel, beams sewn to the sides for deck flooring were installed. The resinous boards of cedar and fig trees are well preserved. It was also possible to imagine the construction technology: the boards of the outer sheathing were assembled end-to-end and fastened with ropes. The longitudinal seams were sealed with slats. A longitudinal bar was attached to the transverse bottom beams with ropes. Both beams and deck boards were fastened with ropes. In the water, the hull boards swelled, the rope ties were tightened, the ship became waterproof.

The rook found at the pyramid of Cheops

According to Egyptologists, Pharaoh set off on his last journey on this boat. After restoration, the remarkable find of archaeologists was put on public display in a specially created museum, 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 a nobleman, among the most worthy deeds committed by the deceased, one of the first appears: “I made a boat to 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 Vladyka 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 copies give scientists the opportunity to reconstruct various types of ships: for trade travel, for the transport of goods, for funeral ceremonies.

Burial boat from the tomb of Amenhotep II.

Wood. Cairo. Egyptian Museum

In later times (II millennium BC), warships appeared in Egypt, in which the bow was adapted for delivering a ramming strike. On the wall reliefs of the Medinet Habu temple, executed by order of Ramses III around 1190 BC. e., depicts the battle of the Egyptian fleet with the ships of the "peoples of the sea."

The Sea Peoples were sea pirates based on the islands Mediterranean Sea and on the coast of southern Europe. They attacked Egypt on several occasions. Around 1200 BC. e. Pharaoh Ramses III, having a fleet of 400 ships, at the city of Migdol in Libya was able to defeat the fleet of the "peoples of the sea", in alliance with which the Libyans acted. This was the first known sea battle in history.

Naval battle with the "peoples of the sea" at Ramses III Part of the relief from the temple of Medinet-Habu

During the reign of Pharaoh Necho, the Phoenician sailors hired for the service, by order of the lord, rounded Africa on their ships. Coming out of the Red (Eritrean) Sea, they crossed the Indian Ocean (South Sea), passed Gibraltar (Pillars of Melqart) and returned to Egypt. Only after 2,000 years, Vasco da Gama was able to repeat this feat. By the way, the same pharaoh, an ascetic of navigation, began to restore the canal connecting the eastern arm 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 headed to Africa, and it is indicated that the fleet passed from the Nile to the Red Sea without stopping. The moving sands of the desert drifted into the channel and had to be rebuilt over and over again. It is known that these works were carried out during the reign of Ramses 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

The inscription made by Darius has survived: “I commanded to dig a canal from the Nile River, which flows in Egypt, to the sea, which stretches to the coast of Persia. This channel 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 the construction, but the work was completed. As Herodotus testifies, it was possible to sail along this channel for four days, and its width was such that two triremes could sail side by side and did not interfere with each other. Later, when the Egyptian civilization perished, the canal was filled up. A new but unsuccessful attempt to restore the canal was made by Napoleon during his Egyptian campaign in 1798. The expedition around Africa, organized by the pharaoh, was a test of strength. There is evidence of the voyages of Egyptian ships to the region of present-day Lebanon, Syria, and also to the east - to India, from where local merchants brought incense, jewelry, and spices. We have preserved clay tablets and the name of one of the first Egyptian sailors - the helmsman Un-Amun, who in the XI century BC. e. made the transition to the Phoenician port of Byblos and left a detailed account of this. By the way, references to the numerous caste of helmsmen and the caste of interpreters allow us to conclude that sailing to neighboring countries has 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 - Cretans and Phoenicians. However, daring sea expeditions were already conceived by the most far-sighted pharaohs. The Egyptians wrote about the ships, the ships were drawn, the models of the ships were placed in the burial chamber of the pyramid, and fairy tales were told about the ships. Among the first known to us Egyptian literary works can be called "Tales of the sons of Pharaoh Khufu", and among them one of the most terrible - the tale of a shipwrecked navigator 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 large role in the formation of the Egyptian state. Even the anthem of the XII Dynasty era (beginning of the 2nd millennium BC) sounded like this: “Glory to you, Nile! Glory to you, who came to earth, to the world, to give life to Egypt. "

Due to the almost constant northeasterly winds, sailing ships climbed up against the current of the Nile. Downstream, the ships sailed by auto-rafting down to the Mediterranean Sea. In the Nile Delta already by 3000 BC. e. arose sea ​​port A-Lv. After the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 330 BC. e. on the site of A-Ur, a new port and city was built, called Alexandria. Large papyrus ships sailed in the Mediterranean Sea, calling into the Black, Marmara, Aegean, Adriatic and other surrounding seas. As the experimental voyage in 1969 - 1970 on the papyrus ship "Ra" by the Norwegian ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl showed, the ancient Egyptians could get from Africa even to America on large papyrus ships.

Navigation in Ancient Egypt took place not only along the Nile and its tributaries, but also along artificial structures - irrigation canals, which were of sufficient size for this. The network of such canals was especially developed during the reign of Sesostris III (1878 - 1841 BC). The canals served not only for navigation, they accumulated water during the flood 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. With 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, the canal was also built under Pharaoh Neho (616 - 601 BC). According to Herodotus, Necho stopped construction due to an unfavorable saying of the oracle. According to some reports, the construction of the canal was completed during the reign of 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 "gave up almost finished work, because he was convinced that the Red Sea lies above Egypt, and if you dig the entire isthmus, then Egypt will be flooded by the sea. " According to other sources, the construction of the canal was completed during the reign of Pharaoh Ptolemy II. The canal was fed with water from the Nile, which had a beneficial effect on the state of water bodies through which the canal route passed. Strabo writes: “The channel flows through the so-called Bitter Lakes, which were really bitter before. But since the canal was dug, the composition of the water changed from the admixture of river water; now they abound in fish and waterfowl. " Herodotus traveled along this canal and described it as follows: "This canal is four days long by sea and is so wide that two triremes can freely disperse in it." Elsewhere he gives the exact dimensions of the channel - 70 cubits wide (cubit ~ 0.5 m). Then the channel fell into disrepair and was abandoned, most likely due to the shallowing of the Nile. The Roman general Mark Anthony (83 - 30 BC) arrived in Alexandria after the defeat of the Egyptian fleet and found the Queen of Egypt Cleopatra at the moment when her ships were dragged 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 was called the "Trajan River". It also existed during the rule of the Arabs in Egypt. Historians of those times wrote: “Ships loaded with grain descended along this channel into the Arabian Gulf. Omar ordered to cleanse and deepen it. " In this form, the canal existed for another 150 years, and by order of the caliph Abu Jafar in 776, the entrance to the canal from the Red Sea was covered 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 places, 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 III millennium BC. e., there were canals in Mesopotamia (between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers). They formed a system that over time was supplemented with new links and functioned until the Arab conquests of the 7th century.

The Tigris and the Euphrates were the main not only irrigation, but also the country's transport routes: both rivers connected Mesopotamia with neighboring countries, with ancient Armenia (Urartu), Iran, Asia Minor, and Syria. The need to obtain from neighboring countries various types of missing raw materials contributed to the development of a fairly significant foreign trade. So, we know that the Sumerians brought copper from Elam, Iran and Assyria, and wood from the mountainous regions lying to the north and east of Mesopotamia. Despite a fairly wide territorial scope, this trade was still very primitive. This was the most ancient exchange trade, in which goods of one type were only exchanged for other goods. The expansion of trade in ancient Mesopotamia entailed the development of transport.

In Mesopotamia, cut by canals, dams served as land roads. The main royal roads to all parts of the country passed along them. Carts pulled 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. Samples of these primitive chariots and their images were found during excavations in the city of Ur.

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

The Babylonians had different types of ships, from wooden ships and boats that went with oars and sails to fishing cane boats.

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

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

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

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

Sacred barque of the gods. Seal impression from Varka (Sumer), 3rd millennium BC e.

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

Babylon freighters

Not far from Kanais, a drawing of a ship was found, on which there are 69 figures, another drawing showing the wheelhouse, 50 crew members, and one of them, towering over all, points west towards the Nile. A relief 1.8 m long was found on the rocks, depicting a vessel with 70 crew members, which is being pulled on ropes. This plot is not unique. Stone drawings, in which people, depicted in the form of notches, pull ships of various sizes behind them, come across quite often.

All images are plotted along the direction of these boats as they drag across the sands from the Red Sea to the Nile on their way to the gold mines of the Eastern Desert. This is further confirmation that the coastal Sumerians were pulling 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 named them "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, its bottom and sides began to be covered with bitumen, which was given in excess 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 discern heavy stones on the bow of the Sumerian ships, which were supposed to enhance the ramming qualities 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, leaving the Persian Gulf, circled the Arabian Peninsula, passing along the coast of the Indian Ocean, entered the Red Sea. Their sailing south of Sumer was facilitated by the prevailing winds, which helped the ships carry loads of up to 20 tons. Thor Heyerdahl built such a boat, calling it "Tigris", and proved that such ships are capable of sea voyages.

Sumerians sailing to Egypt made frequent stops along the route. One of the main sites was Punt, whose influence spread to both banks in the southern part of the Red Sea. Puntu also owned the island of Hafun, which is part of the Bahrain archipelago. Having established a fortification on this island, the Sumerians took control of the entire coast. It was from the islands, according to some scholars, that the people, later known as the Phoenicians, came out. They were known to the Egyptians as the "people of Fin" - the inhabitants of the Land of the Gods, or the country of Punt. An inscription found in Egypt, applied to a stone slab about 3 thousand years BC. e., testifies 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 - a kelek, a raft on leather wineskins, inflated with air.

Phoenicia

Place of the leader in the vastness of the Mediterranean Sea from the X century BC. e. occupied 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, surrounded by a mountain ridge, stretches 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 directly to the sea and impeded overland movements between settlements that had arisen 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. So, for example, an inscription found in Egypt, applied to a stone slab about III thousand years BC. e., testifies that forty ships filled with cedar forest arrived in Egypt from Phenicia.

This people was inquisitive, perceptive. They adopted a lot of useful skills from the ancient Sumerians and Cretans. And above all, they learned to build ships with a keel and a frame out of wood, learned to navigate Polar Star knew the basics of navigation. At the time of its highest prosperity, Phenicia was associated with almost all parts of the world, familiar the ancient world... They were guided by the information about the earth that became the property of mankind only 2.5 thousand years later, by the time of the Great Geographical Discoveries.

The Phoenician helmsmen contributed to marine science by introducing the 360 ​​° division of the horizon circumference, in addition, they provided reliable celestial landmarks for sailors.

More important than the cedar and the technology of building ships for human civilization was the spread of the alphabet by the Phoenicians, which they are supposed to have created. Linear writing also originated in Phenicia around 1500 BC. e. and gradually supplanted 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 be impossible. It was the Phoenician seafarers who spread both the alphabet and the linear letter 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 keel sailing ships and galleys 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 XI century BC. e. the inhabitants of the Levant sailed in single-masted boats with a large square sail with highly raised stems, controlled by a steering oar. The sides were connected by a deck flooring on which the 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, the shores of India.

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

The ancient Phoenicians, apparently, were the first among the peoples of the Mediterranean countries to go to the open sea. The sailing ships of the Phoenicians, intended for the transport 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 IV millennium BC. e. Phenicia conducted maritime trade with Egypt and Mesopotamia, where, in addition to general goods, timber and mast timber was exported for the construction of ships. The Phoenicians had good trade links with the inhabitants of the Mediterranean islands.

In the middle of the II millennium BC. e. the Phoenicians established a number of colonies in the Mediterranean basin. Sailing around Africa by order of the Egyptian pharaoh Necho (approximately IV century BC) began in the Red Sea, and three years later, having crossed 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 course."

The picture above shows a Phoenician merchant ship dating from 1500 BC. e. This is a fairly roomy vessel with powerful stems and two stern oars. Along the sides, lattices made of rods were attached to enclose the deck cargo. The mast carried a straight sail on two curved yards. A large baked clay amphora was attached to the nasal post for storing drinking water.

Even in the era of the Old Kingdom, the Egyptians called one of the types of ship "biblical ship". It is quite possible that the most tribal name "Phoenicians" comes from the Egyptian word "fenechu" meaning "shipbuilder". The oldest type of Phoenician ship was a heavy, but very suitable for navigation ship, sailing mainly under sail and intended for the transport of significant cargo.

Creating their empire, the Phoenicians never conquered other countries, they used not military force, but the economy. All that was needed was achieved with the help of trade, which was carried out on their ships. They sailed not only throughout the Mediterranean, but went out to the Atlantic and Indian oceans... In the XII - IX centuries BC. e. 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 tenacious. And these people actually ruled that world. The Phoenicians have been monopolists in the maritime trade for centuries. Their merchant ships grew to a large size. For example, a merchant ship from the city of Tarsus had a capacity of 500-600 people. Only in 800 BC. e. the Greeks refused the services of the Phoenicians, and began to transport their goods by sea themselves. Fearing competition and trying to remain monopolists, the Phoenicians kept the routes of their voyages 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 has reached a high level of development, which is explained by the relatively high productivity of agriculture, the success of the craft and favorable geographic conditions. Phoenician cities were located in 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 proceeded along land and sea routes. Caravans of merchants 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 was the city of Byblos (now on this place, located 32 km from the Lebanese capital of Beirut, the city of Jebeil is located), through which maritime trade with Mesopotamia, Egypt and Crete went. Goods were delivered to this port from inland regions, and from here the Phoenician ships sent them to different parts of the Mediterranean. These were ships of a special kind, capable of carrying heavy timber, and they were called "biblical". The busiest trade was with Egypt, where from Phenicia, in addition to cedar, they brought resin, olive oil, metals, lapis lazuli and, possibly, slaves. Byblos was the port where the Egyptian papyrus was delivered. From the name of the city of Byblos, the Greeks began to call the papyrus scrolls "byblos", and hence the word "library" came from. Especially strong papyrus ropes were also brought here. A papyrus found in 1891 in Northern Egypt tells the story of the high priest's messenger to Thebes, dated 1080 BC. e. The messenger of the high priest Un-Amon, who was 29 days in the harbor of Byblos, counted twenty ships that went with goods to Egypt, and 50 ships that were heading for other countries. Shipping goods by sea was dangerous and involved the risk of pirate attacks. Therefore, the ships always sent detachments of archers.

Having accumulated enormous wealth from trade, the rulers of the 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 - his officials, but they enjoyed complete freedom in internal affairs and external relations with neighbors. The ruler Byblos, for example, was considered an Egyptian prince and was rather 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 from the city-states of Phenicia to the rulers of the allied Egypt are written. It is believed that their number was more than 40.

But especially high flowering reached in Phenicia sea trade. Already in the IV millennium BC. e. In the era of the Old Kingdom, the Egyptians exported many goods from Phenicia, among which olive oil and wood should be noted. Along with this, the subjects of Phoenician export were wine, cedar oil, livestock, grain, cosmetics and medical supplies. Forests were of utmost importance in the Phoenician trade and throughout the Phoenician economy. The mountain ranges of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, located in the immediate vicinity of the Phoenician trading 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 resources of these regions, which abounded with cedars, Cilician and seaside pine, as well as other valuable species of forest, made it possible for Phoenician traders to export large quantities of timber, especially timber and mast timber, to Egypt, as well as to Mesopotamia. One relief of the time of Seti I, which depicts how the Lebanese princes chopped 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 Israelite-Judean kingdom, Solomon, to build the Jerusalem temple. In the VIII century BC. e. Phoenicians supplied timber to Assyria to King Sargon II for the construction of his palace. Sometimes Phenicia paid tribute to the Assyrian kings with cedars.

Colonizing the lands of the natives, the Phoenicians did not allow foreigners there. If the local tribes were strong, then 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 the inhabitants did not communicate with their neighbors.

The Phoenician warships were narrow and light ships with one row of oars, which were built of cypress wood and fastened with copper nails. Probably, the bottoms were sheathed with copper to protect them from sea water. There were ships of 30 oars (triacons) and 50 oars (peteconters). They began to build ships with a pointed ram. To achieve a higher speed, the Phoenicians created ships on which rowers were placed in two, and then in three, and in four rows. The ratio of width to length for these vessels was 1: 5 or 1: 8. On a ship with three tiers of rowers on the oars were 150 - 170 people, 30 people made up the crew, and 20 soldiers were to conduct a boarding battle. Shields were reinforced 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 fighting ship of the 7th century BC e.

The Phoenicians did not start a strong military fleet, but built it if necessary, so later they relatively easily ceded their colonies to the warlike Greeks on the coast of the Archipelago and on the Black Sea. The Phoenician merchant ships had a shorter hull than the warships.

The figure shows a combat ship of the 7th century BC. e. with two tiers of oars, the so-called bireme. It was the first double-deck oar boat in the world. On the birems, the Phoenicians also fought in the service of the Egyptians, Assyrians and Persians, in particular with the Greeks.

The narrow, elongated body of the Phoenician bireme consisted, as it were, of two floors, with the upper one given to the helmsmen and soldiers. To increase the stability of the ship, the Phoenicians lowered the crinolines to the level of the main hull, placing rows of rowers there. Forged with bronze, massive, protruding like a horn, the ram was the main weapon of the narrow high-speed bireme. Traditional detachable sail rigs were used in tailwinds and were typical of the Mediterranean. The stern acrostole curved sharply, like a scorpion's tail, and the balustrade of the battle platform was covered with warrior shields fortified along the sides.

The Assyro-Phoenician warship depicted in the figure refers to 1000 - 1500 BC. e. This is a rather narrow, tightly tailored ship, with smooth skin, powerful stems and velvet, going around the perimeter of the ship. The deck for warriors is raised on racks in the form of a platform. It is closed by a bulwark on which the shields of the soldiers were hung. Massive stern and bow oars significantly distinguished the vessel from similar vessels of that time. Their presence allowed the ship to change course by 180 ° without turning. This significantly increased maneuverability. At one time, such an arrangement of steering oars was introduced by the Kiev prince Izyaslav on his combat deck boats. In addition, in battle, these oars were firmly fastened to the body and played the role of battering rams.

The mast was removable. Two rows of oars allow this ship to be classified as bireme. Its length ranged from 25 to 35 m, width 4 - 5 m.

The reliefs on the walls of the Assyrian palaces and the remains of wrecked ships raised from the bottom give an idea of ​​the Phoenician ships.

In 1971, such a sunken ship was discovered off the coast of Sicily, the length of which was 25 m. From the inside, its sides were sheathed with lead slabs, and at the bottom there was stone ballast. The ratio of width to length was 1: 3 or 1: 4. Such a vessel was moving by the force of the wind. It had a mast with a large quadrangular sail, and the oars, the number of which, according to the surviving images, did not exceed ten, were located in two tiers, apparently used in calm weather. There were two aft oars for steering, but a small sail served for maneuvering, attached obliquely to a mast mounted on the bow. Cargo and crew quarters were below deck. Such vessels moved slowly, but had a carrying capacity of up to 20 tons. Usually the crossing was 40 km and took place during daylight hours. In the harbor, ships were pulled ashore, for which they laid out guides from well-polished stones, poured them with olive oil and rolled the ship along them. The Phoenicians also created ships for sailing in 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 thy platforms have been made of Senir cypresses; they took a cedar from Lebanon to make masts for you; from the oaks of Bashan they made your oars; your benches were made of beech wood, with rims of ivory from the Kittim islands. Patterned canvases from Egypt were used for your sails and served as a flag ".

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

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

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

Not only the calculation led the Phoenicians over the horizon, they were also guided by the love of wandering, the thirst for novelty, excitement, adventurism, risk, and a thirst for adventure. They visited the Azores and Canary Islands swam to British Isles, for the first time in the history of mankind, circled Africa. The greatest Phoenician colony in North Africa was Carthage, created in 825 BC. e. on the shores of the Gulf of Tunis, in the spacious harbor. It originated in the narrowest part of the Mediterranean Sea, in the immediate vicinity of Sicily. The convenient location of the port city allowed him to actively develop trade with Egypt, Greece, Italy.

Phoenician-Carthaginian combat ship

Mastering the shores of Africa, the Carthaginians by the 7th century BC. e. created colonies on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, and later captured Spain, Sardinia, Sicily, Corsica and some of the Mediterranean islands. The Carthaginians carried out several sea voyages along the western coast of Africa and the coast of Western Europe. By the 6th century BC. e. refers to the voyage of the Carthaginian king Hannon near the Atlantic coast of Africa. Gannon'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 lasted until 146 BC. e., until it was destroyed by the 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-decked. There are warriors on the upper deck, the sides are covered with shields. On the lower deck there are rowers in two tiers one above the other. The battering ram on the nose is hidden under water. The Carthaginians began to build penters. Length - 31 m, width at the waterline - 5.5 m, displacement 116 tons. 30 oars were placed in one row. The crew consisted of 150 rowers, 75 infantrymen, 25 sailors. In the III century BC. e. the number of such warships was 120 - 130 ships. In the years of danger - up to 200 ships. Several thousand people were called up for retraining every year. In 400 BC. e. in Carthage, quadriremes (four-row) appeared,

The fleet of Carthage took control of the entire western region of the Mediterranean. On the islands off the coast of Spain in 663 BC. e. his strongholds were established, which controlled Gibraltar. Then the whole of southern Iberia was under the rule of Carthage. The warships of the Carthaginians constantly cruised in this area and blocked the exit to the Atlantic Ocean for foreign ships. The ships of the Greeks, for fear of being sunk, did not even try to approach the "Pillars of Hercules" and were forced to go for tin by inland rivers Europe. Only in the 4th century BC. e. this blockade was lifted.

The Carthaginians themselves successfully sailed to the 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 the 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 fleet of Carthage could protect them from any attacks. Later Carthage became a republic and the largest port of its time. After the collapse of the Tyrian Empire, 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 the intermediate station of the Carthaginians, but the place where they found copper. On the island of Thasos in the Black Sea, they found iron ore, which was very important, since in the X century BC. e. most of the tools and ornaments 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 from Carthage, Hannon, who made a campaign along West Africa and reached the territory of present-day Cameroon. This naval commander led 60 ships, each of which had 50 rowers, and a total of 30 thousand people took part in the campaign. Gannon's account of this journey has reached us, in which he described encounters and clashes with the natives, the animal world of Africa, the active volcano of Cameroon, which he called the "Chariot of the Gods." The navigator is laconic and, fixing the main stages of the campaign, he stops at the possible dangers that may await those who follow him.

The ancient scientist Diodorus of Siculus left for history a testimony of the Phoenicians visiting the islands lying "in the middle of the ocean against Africa." Their description allows us to conclude that we are talking about the island of Madeira. However, many scholars believe that the Phoenicians were not pioneers, 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 last achievement of the great shipbuilders of antiquity was the largest ship, which had a 40 m long Lebanese cedar keel, and the rowers sat on it in 11 rows. In total, there were 1800 slaves on the oars.

Around 525 BC e. the Carthaginians provided their fleet to the subjugating Persian Empire to fight Egypt. With 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 pushed 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, 1207 Phoenician ships were under his command.

The rival of Carthage was Rome. 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 repeatedly suffered defeats, lost almost the entire built fleet, but they constantly improved both shipbuilding and the art of naval combat. In 241 BC. e. the Romans made a determined attempt to break the power of Carthage. The Roman authorities appealed to the citizens with an appeal to build ships at their own expense, provided that the costs will be reimbursed after the victory. If the defeat follows, then not only the ships will die, but also Rome itself. The wealthy citizens of the city pooled all their funds and rebuilt the fleet. The reckless Carthaginians did not expect to meet the Roman ships, and a surprise attack led to their complete defeat.

Carthage lost its monopoly on the Mediterranean. The indemnity was paid for ten years 3200 talents. (1 talent - $ 30,000). Carthage lost both its army and navy. And Rome has become a world power. In 146 BC. e. the Romans burned Carthage to the ground. The hatred for Carthage, which was their constant rival, was so deep that, having razed the city to the ground, they covered this place with salt so that nothing would grow there.

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

Ancient China

The leading role in the economy of China, especially in the South, has traditionally been played by water transport. 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 and economic ties within the country. Therefore, the Chinese have 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 the Emperor Qin Shihuang. The construction of the canal was dictated by the need to supply the troops deployed in 219 BC. e. to the south of the country to conquer the Yue people. The channel is unusual in that it connects two rivers flowing in opposite directions. The difficulty in constructing the canal was that the Xiang River, which originates in the Haiyan Mountains, flows to the north, and the Li River to the south. Both rivers are characterized by rapid currents, therefore, along the Xiang River, a 2.4 km long bypass channel had to be built for the passage of ships with a lower channel drop than that of the river. To ensure navigation, the waters of the Li River were directed to another 22 km canal. Thus, having tamed both rivers, the builders were finally able to connect them with a 5 km long canal. A dam was poured across the Xiang River, dividing the channel into two streams - large and small, and took most of it aside. Weirs were installed behind the embankment. In the Sinan area, several bridges were thrown over the canal, which was 1 m deep and 4.5 m wide. Thanks to the weir system and the separation of streams, only a third of the water of the Xiang River entered the connecting channel, and it did not overflow. It became possible year-round navigation on inland waterways with a total length of 2 thousand km (from the 40th to the 22nd parallel). The barges, therefore, reached from the latitude of Beijing, located in the north of the country, to Canton (Guangzhou) and to the sea in the south (where Hong Kong is now). The Magic Canal became a link in this system of Chinese rivers. By the 9th century, 18 locks were 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, the dragon was considered its guardian. The canal continues to operate today, through it was built railroad bridge modern design.

On the Magic Channel

Another ancient structure created by the labor of the Chinese people is the Great or Imperial Canal. China's Great Canal is the world's oldest and longest man-made river. The beginning of the construction of the Great Canal should be considered the period of Spring and Autumn, which is more than 2400 years away from us. The ruler of the Wu principality 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 people 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 Great Canal.

The second stage of large-scale construction on the Great Canal route dates back to 605 - 610 years. The then Sui emperor Yang-di, in order to strengthen his power and strengthen control over the rich regions south of the Yangtze, undertook the construction of a canal from the capital Luoyang (present-day Luoyang, Henan province) in two directions: north to Zhojun (south-east of present Beijing) and south to Juhan (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang province).

Several million people were herded 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 shifted from the Central Plain to the north, but the Yangtze and Huaihe basin areas remained the focus of financial and economic activity. The transportation of grain from the southern regions to Beijing by the district waterway through Luoyang was fraught with great inconvenience. Therefore, in about 1283, the third large-scale construction in history was undertaken along the route of the Grand Canal. 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 from Beijing via the Grand Canal to reach Hangzhou by a direct route.

Sections of the Great China Canal

Today The great canal of china stretches for almost 1800 km, which is 10 times the size of the Suez Canal and 20 times the size of the Panama Canal.

After the change in the Yellow River channel, insufficient water supply to the site in Shandong province led to shallowing and the termination of the operation of the South-North water transport. Today, the Great Canal along its entire length can no longer be used, but its individual parts, especially in the Hangzhou and Suzhou regions, continue to serve as an important waterway.

Many sections of the Beijing-Hangzhou canal use the former natural rivers and lakes, some of the sections are artificial. Most of the water in the canal comes from natural rivers.

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

The total length of the passages on the canal is 1027 km, of which about 600 km are of classes 2 and 3. The canal is being reconstructed continuously. According to the report of the Ministry of Communications of the PRC, over the five-year period 1996-2000, two sections, 164 and 293 km long, in the southeast of the country were reconstructed. 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 Jangsu and Shiyang provinces reached 260 million tons. After the reconstruction, the southern sections of the Great 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, irrigation of fields and tourism development, as well as ecology and environmental protection.

For sailing along rivers and canals, the Chinese have built rafts since ancient times, having at hand a convenient and high-quality material - a giant bamboo. Its stems reach a height of 24 - 25 m and diameters 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 the water by only 5 - 7 cm, that is, navigation on such rafts is possible in shallow water inaccessible to ordinary ships.

Various types of ships from the Ming era.

On Chinese rivers, the 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 widespread. In European literature, it is usually called a junk (the word is of Malay origin). Such boats - roomy, stable and at the same time with high maneuverability - were used mainly for the transport of goods. If necessary, the sides of the junks were sheathed with boards, the cracks between them were battened down with a mixture of tung oil and lime. The design of the junky is so rational that it has existed almost unchanged to our time.

There were also large cargo ships in China, reaching a length of 30 meters or more. They were usually used to transport grain. By the turn of the new era, the ancient Chinese knew how to build two-deck ships; in the following centuries, ships with three or more masts and steering control 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 steering oars were used to move the ships. The sails were made from bamboo planks and mats in between. Such sails were quite tight, which is important from an aerodynamic point of view, but they could be folded or partially deployed (which is important in windy stormy weather).

In addition, sails made of bamboo planks and mats had the advantage of being able to function with many holes and breaks. A paddle held at an angle at the stern was used to control the movement.

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 take on board 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 sandy vessels (sha chuan), as well as "fujian ships" (fu chuan) and "bird ships" (nyao chuan), the elongated bow and stern of which made them look like a bird. Unlike flat-bottomed river vessels designed for shallow water, 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 move ships. The first mentions of them date back to 418. Rowing 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 demons were moving the ship. However, such vessels were not adapted to sailing at sea and were used only on rivers and lakes. The control was carried out due to the different speed of rotation of the wheels from different sides. They were built very big ships with paddle wheels, for example, it is known that a 100-ton warship with 12 wheels was built in 1168.

Modern Chinese junk with luggers

In the future, ships were built with a large number of wheels. Such ships could take on board up to 800 people. There were up to 200 sailors turning the wheels.

Marble boat with paddle wheels

Long narrow barges, movably coupled in pairs, were built to transport goods along the Great Canal. When crossing the sandbank, these barges were separated.

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

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome, founded in 753 BC e., was regularly exposed to floods from the floods of the Tiber River. According to the message of the ancient Roman historian Tacitus, the question of protecting Rome from floods was discussed in the Roman Senate in 15 AD. In 46, under the Emperor Claudius, a canal was built that connected the Tiber with the sea, bypassing the bend of the river. The canal shortened the length of the passage, increased the throughput of the channel and thereby reduced the rise in the flood level. 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 existence of Ancient Rome, the ports of Ostia, Missilia, Bordeaux and others were built, testifying to the high technical culture of the Romans. They were similar in layout 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 water and anchored at sea, loading goods onto river vessels that were going up the river. In 42, under the 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: flooded big ship and poured the island, on it a lighthouse. Later, under Trajan, the port was expanded: a basin was dug in the form 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 the Trajan Canal.

Below are images of Roman merchant and warships.

Recall that the names of oared ships are associated with the number of rows of oars:

two rows of oars - bireme;

three rows of oars - trireme or triremes;

five rows of oars - pentera or pentecotera.

Roman bireme

The reconstruction of the ship was carried out on the bas-relief in the Temple of Fortune in Preneste, dating from the end of the 2nd century BC. e. A characteristic feature of the vessel is a narrow crinoline-parados, which served not to accommodate rowers, but to protect the sides. Clamps for copies were provided in the ornamental decoration of the stem. 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 bulwarks, located along the entire length of the bireme, had open passages in the bow and stern. For the commander, a place was allocated under a light awning-tent at the stern. In the bow there was a tower for slingers, characteristic of Roman warships, and a raven boarding ladder. This type of bireme is a pure rowing vessel driven by 88 oars.

Roman Empire in the 4th century BC e.

Roman Empire in the 1st century AD

Roman Empire in the 3rd century AD

Roman bireme

Roman trireme (trière)

Roman trireme (trière)

Trireme (Triere) - the main type of warship in the Mediterranean. Some researchers attribute the invention of the trireme to the Phoenicians, others call the Corinthian Amenoccus. The main weapon of the trireme was a ram - an extension of the keel bar. The displacement of the vessel reached 230 tons, length - 45 m. The oars on triremes were of different lengths. The strongest rowers were located on the upper deck. The speed of the trireme on the oars was 7 - 8 knots, but all three rows of oars worked only during the battle. Even with little excitement, the bottom row of oars was pulled into the ship, and the oar ports were tightened with leather patches. The sailing equipment consisted of a large rectangular sail and a small (artemon) sail on an inclined mast in the bow of the vessel. The masts were made removable and removed for the duration of the battle. In the course of the battle, the triremes tried to develop their maximum speed, hit the enemy with a battering ram, make them unable to move, breaking their oars and "dumping" on board.

Roman pentera (pentecotera)

Roman pentera (pentecotera)

Warships with five rows of oars - penteres - were introduced in 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, protected by the whole a forest of oars, was inaccessible to the ramming blow of a relatively light Roman bireme. In a short time, Rome introduced 120 such ships into its fleet. Each oar was controlled by one rower, 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 the lower tier - one above the other in the ship's hull. Coordinated rowing with such a large number of oars was achieved by connecting oars of the same row with a common rope and the use of stops that limit the magnitude of the stroke.

The bow and stern of the pentera were decorated with an acrostol (continuation of the stems). The aft part of the ship was surrounded by a hinged gallery with a balustrade, under which the boat was usually suspended. Penters had two masts with battle mars. The rig consisted of large straight sails, used only on crossings with fair winds.

It is known that ships were created with six or more rows of oars. So, in Hercules Pontic, located on south bank Black Sea, in the III century BC. e. the Greeks built the ship "Leontofer" with eight rows of oars on each side - an octera. There were 100 rowers in each row. Thus, this ship could have had 1,600 rowers and 1,200 more soldiers.

In Syracuse (Ancient Egypt) under Ptolemy IV Philopator (about 200 BC) the tessarokontera 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 up to the highest point of the vessel - 26.5 m. The largest oars on the ship were 19 m long, and lead was poured into their handles for balancing. On this ship there were 4 thousand rowers, 400 other crew members and 3 thousand soldiers. The speed of this ship was up to 7.5 km / h.