Water transport is a type of transport that is used for freight and passenger transport by waterways. These can be either natural (rivers, lakes, seas and oceans) or artificial (canals, reservoirs) waterways. The ship is used as the main transport.

The history of water transport begins in Ancient Egypt. Until the second half of the 19th century, when transcontinental railways were created, the most important mode of transport was water (both river and sea). And today this type of transport plays an important role: from 60 to 67% of the world cargo turnover falls on river and sea vessels.

A seagoing ship of the ancient world.

The device of the vessel

In the classical concept, water transport is a ship, boat, yacht. But the category of ships also includes kayaks, inflatable boats, barges, catamarans, a hovercraft, as well as drilling operations, ekranoplanes, ekranolets, seaplanes.

Most sea and river vessels have a number of common structural elements:

• Frame
• Superstructures, deckhouses
• Power plants of the ship
• Ship devices
• Ship systems and piping
• Equipment and electrical equipment of premises

Part of the hull of a dry cargo ship

But there are also distinctive features for some categories of ships, such as ekranoplan and seaplane. For the most part, the structure is aircraft, only their hull is made on the principle of a boat.

A ship's hull is a waterproof shell that allows a ship to float on water. The end of the body is equipped with beams, which are called pins. Stem is a beam that is installed in the bow of the ship's hull. Also, at the ends, they can install not pins, but end vertical walls - they are equipped with tugs or pushing ships. The ship's hull is usually made of steel.

Passenger ships have decks, river and mixed navigation, have one deck - the main one. Marine passenger ships are distinguished by the presence of several decks - upper (main), middle, lower. Large passenger ships sailing on lakes have two decks.

To keep the ship unsinkable, its hull is divided by internal watertight transverse bulkheads. This results in several rooms - compartments.

Use of watercraft

River transport

Depending on the water area in which this type of transport is used, river and sea transport are distinguished.

The first type of water transport is also called IWT (inland waterway transport). These are ships that carry out cargo and passenger transportation along inland waterways - rivers, canals, reservoirs, lakes.

Have river transport ancient history... Even in Ancient Egypt, river ships, rowing or sailing, were built. Later, they used the traction of horses or people (barge haulers) who walked along the shore. The first river steamers appeared in the 19th century. And in 1903 the history of the ship begins - this ship was built in Russia and became part of the river fleet.

In cargo transportation, river vessels occupy important place... Despite such disadvantages as seasonality of operation and low speed (from 10 to 20 kilometers per hour), water freight transport is profitable due to the fact that the cost of transportation is quite low. There are self-propelled vessels and barges - the second type of river vessels is not self-propelled, a tug vessel is used for pushing. Self-propelled river transport carries either trucks with one or another cargo, or containers - such ships are called river container ships. Barges carry either liquid cargo (for example, oil products or crude oil) or bulk cargo (for example, grain, coal, sand).

In passenger transportation, river vessels occupy a relatively small share. This is due to the fact that the usual speed of such transport reaches 20-30 kilometers per hour, which is why a river vessel cannot compete with faster buses and trains. With the help of so-called hydrofoils and an air cushion, the speed of ships can be increased to 80 kilometers per hour. However, in this case, the cost of transportation significantly increases - due to the high fuel consumption. But recently, more and more hovercraft (hovercraft) for the transport of people began to appear on the rivers. The hovercraft has the properties of an amphibian, so the vessel does not need specially equipped berths. In the spring thaw, this is the only transport capable of ferrying people and goods from one coast to another.

Hovercraft SVP-50

River passenger ships are used for tourist cruises or for transferring passengers to places with which there is no communication by land transport.

Sea transport

Maritime transport is ships moving across the seas, oceans and adjacent waters, capable of maintaining buoyancy, as well as serving passengers and participating in various operations with cargo.

The largest share of the world's freight traffic is carried by sea transport. In terms of the volume of transportation, the first place is occupied by a variety of liquid cargo: vegetable oil, liquid products of the chemical industry, crude oil and products of its processing.

The second place in terms of the volume of cargo transportation is occupied by container transportation. Specialized vessels, called container ships, have become an alternative to their predecessors, the multipurpose vessels. This is due to the fact that in an ordinary container (20-foot or 40-foot), you can transport various goods - both small and large enough, such as cars.

Dry cargo ship

There are other types of sea transport:

• Lighter carriers
• Livestock vessels
• Heavy ships
• Towing vessels
• Refrigerated trucks
• Bulk carriers for the transport of bulk cargo - e.g. coal, grain, sand

Some ships move according to a schedule between several seaports, adhering to a certain route. These are liner ships - passenger, cargo and ferries.

Other vessels are not tied to specific geographic points and carry incidental and incidental cargo, this type of sea transport is called tramp. When carrying out tramp cargo transportation, a so-called charter agreement is carried out, in which both the carrier (charterer) and the consignor of the cargo participate. Trump shipping is carried out in cases where it is necessary to carry out the transportation of piece low-value cargo.

A mixed - in relation to waterways - type of water transport is also known. Such ships can navigate both rivers and lakes, and seas and oceans.

For river transport, as well as ships plying the Northern Sea Route, seasonality is typical. Freight transport by water transport is the cheapest, but tied to geographic features... When carrying out intercontinental cargo transportation, water transport is used, because the delivery of goods by air is too expensive, and the carrying capacity of aircraft is significantly lower than that of a sea vessel.

Examples of BT and a brief description

Modern water transport can be roughly divided into sports vessels, cargo and passenger ships. In sports courts, traditions that have come from antiquity have been preserved, for example, kayaks, canoes, sailing ships, rowing boats. Often, the manufacture of such water products is a real art, as a result of the work of the masters, unique works are created. But since the beginning of the 20th century, motorized means of transportation have become a mass type of water transport - steam engines have been replaced by gasoline (in motor boats) and diesel engines.
Features of VT, the main differences from other types of vehicles.

There are many varieties of water transport. Distinguish between small vessels (most often personal), medium and large vessels. First of all, it is worth noting personal vessels - boats, motor boats, yachts.

Blohm & Voss GOLDEN ODYSSEY II

Personal water transport is used for various purposes: fishing, tourism, recreation, and various activities. For recreation and tourism, ships such as motor boats and motor boats are used. Fishing enthusiasts use inflatable motor boats. Yachts are used for events.

Unlike boats, the motors of which are stationary, motor boats are equipped with easily removable outboard gasoline engines. Also, motor boats usually have oarlocks for oars, which can be useful if, for any reason, the boat's engine fails, or it is necessary to make silent (or slow) movements.

For long-distance tourist trips along the rivers, transport and tourist motor boats are used. These ships carry both passengers and their luggage. The hulls of such motor boats are made of light metal material - aluminum or its alloy with magnesium.

It is interesting to note that many types of motor boats are planing type water transport - such vessels can slide on the surface of the water and in this way safely pass shallow areas. In order for the engine power to be sufficient for the transition to planing, the motor boat must be moderately loaded.

Motor boats are used for hunting, fishing, tourism and recreation, as well as search and rescue operations. Depending on the scope of application, the dimensions of such a vessel, as well as its contour, differ. For example, sports motor boats are small in size and weight and have such a body contour that allows you to move at high speed.

Boats were originally called light ships with one mast. Today, this is the name for small ships equipped with a stationary engine. In the Soviet Union, a boat of the Amur type was produced for retail sale to a wide range of buyers. Nowadays LLC "Tom" is engaged in the production of boats. This shipyard produces both boats themselves with a light hull made of aluminum and trailers for transporting these vessels.

Boats are used for boating and recreation, boating, fishing, hunting, as well as sporting events. In addition to a stationary engine, boats are usually equipped with water-jet propellers. It is the jet propulsion unit that allows the boat to enter the planing mode and easily overcome the shallow sections of the river.

Advantages and disadvantages of water transport

Freight transportation by water transport has a number of significant advantages:

• The carrying capacity of sea trade routes is practically unlimited
• The presence of a single legal and legal field, which has a 400-year history
• The cost of such transportation is quite low.
• High lifting capacity, due to which a large amount of cargo can be transported on the ship

These advantages, especially the latter, are especially important for intercontinental transportation of large quantities of cargo (for example, oil or oil products). At the same time, water transport has a number of serious disadvantages:

• The ship moves at a relatively low speed
• It is necessary to have specially equipped port facilities
• The construction of ships and ports requires serious financial costs

Motor boats are a very popular type of small water transport due to a number of advantages:

• Such small boats are cheaper than yachts and boats
• Simple construction
• Easy handling, thanks to which the motor boat can be driven by persons without special education
• The service life is long, which is due to the possibility of storing the vessel on the shore
• Speed
• It is possible to provide a safe anchorage of the vessel at an unprepared shore
• The motor boat can be transported by a passenger car by installing it on a special trailer
• Due to the fact that the engine is outboard, it is easy to remove and replace; also, if necessary, the motor can be removed for safe storage

Also, motor boats have disadvantages:

• Low payload rates
• Small volume of cabins (habitable space)
• The outboard motors of these vessels are uneconomical compared to stationary boat motors.

Ways of VT evolution

The first large ships were built in Ancient Egypt, wood was used as a structural material. The simplest sail was installed on the ships, catching the favorable wind. If there was no tailwind, the force of the rowers was used.

In the 15th century, large seagoing vessels with several sails appeared. At the beginning of the 19th century, the first steamship was built, used as a river vessel. Metal - iron began to be used as a material for the hull of such a ship. And the driving energy is steam. The next stage in the development of water technology was the discovery made in 1876 by Nicholas Otto - an internal combustion engine running on gasoline. It was internal combustion engines that began to appear more and more on boats, yachts, ferries, ships. Today this is the main engine, but not the only one installed on VT. Another stage in the development of technology was the rapid development of the petrochemical industry. On the this moment many watercraft are made of plastics polymer materials. Firstly, plastics and polymers are lighter than metal, secondly, in terms of strength, they either approach, are the same or stronger than metal alloys, and thirdly, they are corrosion-resistant.

At the moment, the greatest interest from water technology is caused by an ekranoplane, a hovercraft and planing boats, because they develop the highest speeds. The most high-speed is the ekranoplan, it can reach the screen flight speed of up to 700 km / h. It also differs in absolute smoothness and allows you to overcome small obstacles (isthmus, shallow). The only drawback is its high power-to-weight ratio for transferring the vehicle and maintaining it in the screen flight mode, which leads to high fuel consumption. The hovercraft and the boat have a lower speed, of the order of up to 150 km / h, the smoothness of the VSP is also at the level of the ekranoplan, but the boat's smoothness suffers, but the hovercraft and the boat spend much less fuel compared to the ekranoplan.

At the moment, the crown of technical thought is an ekranoplan. With the development of new materials and an increase in the efficiency of power units, ekranoplanes may well replace private passenger air travel. And in the future, it will become private means for long-distance transportation and world travel, displacing yachts and cars.

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 occupies an important place in transport system 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%, rail - 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 transportation have a very small share among the popular types 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 in use now 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: not relevant 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. Graduation of 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 their absence, it is not recommended to use this water transport.
3. Once on board the ship, you enter the territory under the control of 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 boat.
5. Make sure you have a swim vest and are 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 of age have the right to free travel (one child), and children from 5 to 10 years old are entitled to reduced travel (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 make requirements from the Rules for the provision of services for the carriage of passengers, baggage, goods for personal (household) needs in inland waterway, 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 traffic is concentrated in the Volga-Kama river basin. River stations of cities in this area offer many options for intracity, transit, local and suburban directions of travel 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.

Price

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 take a closer look at tariffs in May or August - the demand will be lower, as will the issue price. You can, of course, try to find 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, 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 is fully responsible 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

1. Complete the tasks.

1) Mark (fill in the circle) in different colors ground, water, air and underground transport on p. 74-75.

2) Mark passenger, cargo and special transport on the same pages with the first letters of these words (write a letter in the box).
Within this framework, decipher the symbols, that is, show what color or letter each type of transport is designated.

2. Give examples of transport that is at the same time:

a) ground, passenger, personal: a car;

b) ground, passenger, public: bus, passenger train, tram, trolleybus;

c) water, passenger, personal: boat, boat, jet ski;

d) water, passenger, public: motor ship, river tram.

3. Write down the phone numbers you are calling:

a) firefighters - 01

b) the police - 02

v) " Ambulance» — 03

Write down a single emergency telephone number:112

4. Compare the dimensions of the vehicles shown in the figure. In the red squares, number them in the order of increasing size, and in the blue squares - in the order of decreasing size. Ask your deskmate to check on you.

5. Make and write a general outline of the story of the history of different modes of transport.

1) Transport in ancient times.
2) The invention of the steam engine.
3) The appearance of transport on an internal combustion engine.
4) The emergence of aviation.
5) Space flights.
6) Electric motors are the future of transport.

History of different types of transport

In ancient times, people also used various types of transport. Most of them are still used by people. For example, even now you can see a horse pulling a cart, and wooden boats, hollowed out from tree trunks, participate in sports competitions. Also, people traveled and transported goods on dogs, camels, elephants, donkeys and other domestic animals.

In the 19th century, an event occurred that dramatically changed transport - the steam engine invented in the 17th century began to be used in transport. So in 1801, the first steam locomotive in history was built and several carriages, driven by steam traction, were built. It was also around this time that the first steamer was built.

At the end of the 19th century, a more advanced engine was invented - the internal combustion engine. The first motorcycle was built in 1885, and the first automobile was built in 1886. A little later, more advanced motor ships began to be mass-produced in comparison with steamships. A few decades later, diesel locomotives also went by rail.

In the 20th century, the development of transport went by leaps and bounds. in 1903, the Wright brothers flew an airplane for the first time. The aircraft were rapidly improved. A variety of types of air transport began to appear: sports, passenger, cargo, military. The engines that powered the planes also quickly became more powerful. Airplanes now fly on jet engines, some of which are capable of surpassing the speed of light.

On April 12, 1961, the greatest event took place - the first manned flight into space. Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made one revolution on the Vostok spacecraft and landed safely. This event marked the beginning of the era of space transport.

Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, mankind uses a variety of modes of transport, powered by various engines. The speed of their movement, ease of use and environmental friendliness (safety for nature) increase. By the way, special attention is now paid to the environmental safety of transport. That is why now on the streets of cities the most the best transport trolleybuses and trams are considered, electric locomotives and electric trains are used in railway transport, and electric vehicles are becoming more and more popular as personal transport.

6. Our cheerful Parrot invites you to color the balloon so that it becomes beautiful and cheerful. You can hold a competition in the class for the funniest balloon.
Have you ever seen the real Balloons? If yes, please tell us about your impressions. In the frame on the right, you can paste a photo of a balloon.

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, it is 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 ships of mixed "river-sea" navigation. Such vessels can enter the sea through river estuaries, sail along it to ports located on it, or enter the estuaries of other rivers.

Ports (sea and river) are used 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 when transporting by rail and 25 times less than when transporting 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, for the transportation of which at the same time and for the same distance would need 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 taking into account 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 is distinguished by high throughput and 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 the motor ship, therefore the first batch of cargo weighing 10 tons will be delivered to the final point in 4 - 5 hours, that is, 20 hours faster than by water. But if there is one car available, then with two flights a 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 amateurs in general. active rest... 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, a minimum depth of 1.2 m is generally required to allow ships 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.

V depending on the mode of shipping water pools are divided into:

basins with a maritime navigation regime, where the International Rules 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.

Story

Since ancient times, people have used natural reservoirs - rivers, lakes and coastal areas of the seas - as routes of communication. At the same time, for a long time already, hydraulic engineering work has been carried out 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 makes 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. Sea 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 over 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 techniques have improved significantly.

Ancient Egypt

The full-flowing Nile overflows its banks at the end of July and returns to its channel only after three months. During a period of high water, the lower course of the river turned into a huge lake region 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 royal 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 vessels - 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 thousand rowers, 3 thousand crew 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 the historians a diagram of the technological process of making their ships by the Egyptians: 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 divided 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 a 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, 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 be the first to appear, as was the case in places rich in forest. Since the main technological operation in the manufacture of a ship in those days was the tying 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 along 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 sailing vessel 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 was undoubtedly confirmed, 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. Outwardly, 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 3.5-4.0 m. An image of a similar vessel was found in the tomb of Pharaoh Sahur in Memphis. Structural features of the 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 boards 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 oarlocks (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, which is why its hull along the entire length of the sides had to be wrapped with a cable. To protect the hull from kinking, the bow and stern were expanded 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. Putting 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 beneficial 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.

Sea 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 cable-tie and the inner keel, bow and stern beams (stem and sternpost) have been preserved; a straight sail was installed on the mast on two yards (with 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 the 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 beam, which made it possible to abandon the longitudinal cable 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. The cans from side to side gave additional strength to the hull. The rowers were protected 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. - of 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 oars of the upper tier reached 19 m.

In 1952, the oldest Egyptian ship, about 4.5 thousand years old, was found near the Cheops pyramid. This is the 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. The 650 parts 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 hull of the vessel 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 were installed for deck flooring. 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 planks swelled, the rope ties were tightened, the ship became waterproof.

The rook found at the pyramid of Cheops

According to Egyptologists, on this boat the Pharaoh set off on his last journey. 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 without boats and ships not only real life, but also the afterlife. 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.

Tree. Cairo. Egyptian Museum

In later times (II millennium BC), warships appeared in Egypt, whose 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 Mediterranean islands and 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 channel 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 indicates 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 area of ​​present-day Lebanon, Syria, and also to the east - to India, from where local merchants brought incense, jewelry, 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 a common thing.

The fleet of Ancient Egypt was primarily a river fleet. This is explained by the fact that the Egyptian priests considered the sea to be the habitat of evil forces. Therefore, not only go to sea, but catch and eat sea fish for a long time was considered a terrible sin. Sea trade was carried out by neighboring countries - the Cretans and Phoenicians. However, 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 this story 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 (the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC) sounded like this: “Glory to you, Nile! Glory to you, who appeared on earth, in the world, to give life to Egypt. "

Thanks to 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. the seaport A-Ur appeared. 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, for 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 separate in it." Elsewhere he gives the exact dimensions of the canal - 70 cubits wide (cubit ~ 0.5 m). Then the canal 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 areas, along which the modern Suez Canal passed in its southern part.

Suez Canal (satellite photo)

Sumerian civilization in Mesopotamia

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

The Tigris and 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. It 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 led to 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 that moved with the help of very primitive disc wheels. Samples of these primitive chariots and their images were found during excavations of 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 by 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 off 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. Indeed, 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 valley of Wadi Abu Makarat el Nes

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

Long before the founding of the ancient Egyptian kingdom, in the middle of the desert, 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 in which the wheelhouse, 50 crew members are visible, 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 ship 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 abundance from 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, rounded 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.

The 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 a 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 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 a 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 frame out of wood, learned to navigate along the Polar Star, and knew the basics of navigation. During 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 navigators who spread both the alphabet and the linear letter throughout the ancient world.

The Phoenicians took over the skills of building ships with a keel, capable of making 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 high-raised stems, controlled by the 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, crossing 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 shaft for storing drinking water.

Even in the era of the Old Kingdom, the Egyptians called one of the types of ships "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. Fearing competition and trying to remain monopolists, the Phoenicians kept the routes of their voyages a 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. The 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 took place along land roads 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 Sea 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 sea trade with Mesopotamia, Egypt and Crete went. In this port, goods were delivered from inland regions, and from here the ships of the Phoenicians 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 envoy to Thebes, dated 1080 BC. e. The messenger of the high priest Un-Amon, who spent 29 days in the harbor of Byblos, counted twenty ships that went with goods to Egypt, and 50 ships that were heading for other countries. Shipping goods by sea was dangerous and carried the risk of being attacked by pirates. 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 are written from the city-states of Phenicia to the rulers of the allied Egypt. It is believed that their number was more than 40.

But the sea trade reached a particularly high flowering in Phenicia. Already in the IV millennium BC. e. During the era of the Old Kingdom, the Egyptians exported many goods from Phenicia, among which olive oil and wood should be noted. Along with this, the items 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 coastal pine, as well as other valuable species of forest, made it possible for Phoenician merchants to export large quantities of timber, especially timber and mast timber, to Egypt, as well as to Mesopotamia. One relief from the time of Seti I perfectly characterizes the Egyptians' need for wood, which depicts how the Lebanese princes chop cedars for the Egyptian king.

The Phoenicians exported the tree to other countries as well. 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 from 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 vessels 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 fight boarding. 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 world's first double-deck oar boat. 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 favorable winds and were typical of the Mediterranean. The stern acrostole curved steeply, 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 along 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 greatly 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 a 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 from Senir cypresses; they took a cedar from Lebanon to make masts for you; from the oaks of Bashan they made your oars; thy 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 enterprising 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, shipbuilders, 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, thirst for adventure. They visited the Azores and Canary Islands, sailed to the British Isles, circled Africa for the first time in human history. 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 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 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,

Carthage's fleet 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 created, which controlled Gibraltar. Then the whole of southern Iberia came 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 along the inner rivers of 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 state, 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 hike along West Africa and reached the territory of what is now 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 evidence of the Phoenicians' visit to 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 1,800 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 own 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 of 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, Eastern 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 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 smaller drop in the channel than near the river. To ensure navigation, the waters of the Li River were directed to another 22 km long 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 - a large and a small one, and took most of it aside. Weirs were installed behind the embankment. In the Sinan area, several bridges were thrown across the canal, which was 1 m deep and 4.5 m wide. Thanks to the spillway 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 thus extended from the latitude of Beijing 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 to this day, 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 city, Henan province) in two directions: north to Zhojun (south-east of present Beijing) and south to Yuhan (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang province).

Several million people were herded into the construction of the canal at different times. 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. 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 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 crosses 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 approximately 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 carriage 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, the sails 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. Vessels 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 was moving on them without sails, 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

Later, 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, connecting the Tiber with the sea, bypassing the bend of the river. The canal shortened the length of the pass, 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. In their layout, they were similar to modern ports. Some ports were built at the mouths of rivers flowing into the sea, and did not have a protective harbor. Merchant ships were often unable to enter the river because of the shallow 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 in the form of a regular hexagon with a side of 460 m and a depth of 6 m was dug 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 the 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 boat 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 triremes 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 rig 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 ram, to deny the course, breaking his oars and "dumping" on board.

Roman pentera (pentecotera)

Roman pentera (pentecotera)

Warships with five rows of oars - penters - were introduced into the Roman navy before the 1st Punic War (264 - 241 BC) due to the fact that the Carthaginians already possessed multi-tiered heavy ships, the side of which, 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 - a 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 using stops that limit the amount of 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 coast 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, 1600 oarsmen and 1200 more soldiers could be on this ship.

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 handle 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.

URBAN ENVIRONMENT

UDC 016 (470.61) BBK 39.483

I.V. Makeev

WATER PASSENGER TRANSPORT OF SAINT-PETERSBURG. IN SEARCH FOR POINTS OF GROWTH

A comprehensive analysis of the current state of water passenger transport in St. Petersburg is presented in order to identify new growth points. Based on the use of statistical methods, problematic situations were identified that have an inhibitory effect on shipowners: the problem of water use, insufficient infrastructure development, planned work to clear bottom sediments, etc. The author also identified the reasons for the "boom" in this industry: from the increase in the volume of domestic tourism to changes in legislation. The practical significance of the presented approaches is due to the development of recommendations for the further development of water tourism in St. Petersburg.

Keywords:

association of shipowners of the city, waterways of St. Petersburg, water city transport, canals, passenger transportation, rivers.

Makeev I.V. Water passenger transport of St. Petersburg. In search of growth points // Society. Wednesday. Development. - 2018, No. 1. - P. 152-157.

© Makeev Ivan Vladimirovich - Postgraduate student, Russian State Pedagogical University. A.I. Herzen; general manager, shipping company "Odyssey", St. Petersburg; e-mail: [email protected]

The indisputable fact is that St. Petersburg is the center of international tourism. The city currently ranks first in the country in terms of the number of individual tourists. So, if Moscow "passes" through itself about 15% of the total number of tourists, then the share of the tourist flow received by St. Petersburg in 2017 exceeded 50%. And the number of the population employed in tourism is already more than two hundred thousand people. At a meeting of the city government, a special program for the development of tourism was developed for the next 5 years, until 2023, where it was decided to increase the share in the gross regional product from 1 to 6%.

It is known that the most prestigious award in the field of world tourism is the World Travel Awards, which has been awarded since 1993 by tourists, experts and industry leaders. In 2017, our city received awards in two nominations at once: "The world's leading tourist destination", as well as the "World's leading urban destination"

The following reasons became the main reasons for identifying the winner city: safety of the city for tourists, developed urban infrastructure, hotel network of the tourist destination. One of the problematic situations on the eve of the largest world sports forum - the IEA-2018 FIFA World Cup - is the integrated development of all types of urban transport: ground, underground and water, where safety and comfort for passengers are unconditional priorities, especially in the summer, when the city literally packed with tourists from all parts of the world. The total annual tourist flow shows stable growth. In 2016, the Northern Capital was visited by about 6.9 million people, which is 0.4 million more than in 2015. About 2.9 million citizens of other states passed the customs checkpoints at the offices in the Northwestern Federal District.

St. Petersburg is a special city, which is the undisputed leader in

the authorities of inbound and domestic tourism in the Russian Federation. The development of water city transport is a strategically priority area that requires painstaking analysis and interaction between federal and regional authorities, as well as representatives of this traditional market for services for the city on the Neva. Along with the increase in the number of guests of our city, the indicators of passengers transported by water city transport are also growing. From 2008 to 2016, the number of tourists visiting St. Petersburg increased by 43.8%, and the number of passengers transported annually on intracity routes increased by 38.9%. It should be admitted that, according to unofficial data, much more passengers are transported per year, it is just that not all trips are carried out through fiscal documents (Fig. 1).

Rice. 1. Growth dynamics in St. Petersburg of tourism and passenger traffic on intracity water transport routes 2008-2016. Compiled according to the data of the St. Petersburg State Institution "Agency for External Transport".

Currently, there are about 50 shipping companies operating in St. Petersburg, providing excursion services on rivers and canals. Of these, about 75% of passenger traffic is carried out by 12 companies that are members of the "Association of Passenger Ship Owners". Boat routes with stops are gaining more and more popularity, where, with a pre-purchased ticket, you can get on board or get off at any stop, while the route is circular. It should be admitted that it is precisely for such routes that the future is, thus the movement of water passenger transport in European cities, where there is much more experience in organizing excursion and pleasure navigation, is organized. Perhaps goodwill is needed to expand the city's largest shipowners association to discuss

issues of interaction between business and government. Thus, in the historical center of the city, you can get a number of well-functioning, popular circular routes with a high level of integrated safety; such plans can only be realized within the framework of the association. Thanks to the collective work, it was possible to "save" the layout of bridges on the Neva for domestic and foreign tourists, which officials wanted to cancel for viewing from the excursion ship, due to unfinished security requirements. The most pressing issues for most shipowners are the following problem situations:

For more than 10 years, there has been a problem of water use, in which the use of surface water bodies or their parts falls on shipping companies. In 2016, at a meeting of the State Council, the President gave an order by 03/01/2017 to cancel such agreements altogether for passenger water transport, but this process, unfortunately, has not been completed by 2018 either.

Beginning in 2016, the Federal Antimonopoly Service issued a decree that obliges ships that carry out intracity excursion and tourist routes, even slightly entering the sea waters (because it is not possible to pass from the Neva delta in another way, due to geography), to pay the fees of FSUE Rosmorport ". Previously, such deductions were not made. Thus, instead of the government's policy to support small businesses, new fees have been introduced.

Currently, there are only two specialized berths in St. Petersburg for the collection of household waste, including fecal water. These points are located at a sufficient distance from historic center- the main navigation area for water excursion transport (the first is near the River Station, which is very far away, and on the Makarov embankment behind the Tuchkov bridge, which is overloaded). The lack of this kind of infrastructure provokes unscrupulous navigators to unauthorized dumping of waste into the Neva and the Gulf of Finland, which undoubtedly has an adverse effect on the environment and sanitary conditions on rivers and canals.

In 2016, planned work on clearing bottom sediments of the Moika River channel in the area of ​​"colored" bridges during almost the entire navigation made it impossible to carry out excursions.

activity, blocking the river bed during daylight hours. The presented process was extremely lengthy, since only one dredger was involved in its implementation, due to the lack of funds allocated by the city. It is logical to assume that two dredgers would have coped twice as fast with clearing the Moika River, which was last cleaned 60 years ago.

As you can see from the table. 1, over two years of tracking statistics on passenger traffic by water transport, passenger traffic increased by almost 25%. It should be noted, however, that this sample does not include carriers in the shadow sector that are not members of the association. According to unofficial data, this is still about 600,000 "unaccounted for" passengers per year, where, however, there is also an increase in passenger traffic of about 20%. At the same time, most of the traffic is carried out along the rivers and canals of the city, where the heaviest traffic is observed during the peak load of the high season.

In 2016, about 1.5 million people were transported on excursion and walking routes, which is 59% of the total passenger traffic on water transport routes in St. Petersburg. Thus, we can say that the industry is experiencing a "real boom" and this is due to several factors at once:

Increase in the volume of domestic tourism. For economic reasons, St. Petersburg is chosen by the citizens of the Russian Federation, preferring Europe and traditional beach holidays.

Increase in the volume of inbound tourism. Due to the change in the exchange rate in favor of the euro and the dollar, the flow of foreign tourists to St. Petersburg has significantly increased.

Changes in legislation in terms of simplifying the procedure for obtaining a license for passenger transportation by water transport, including the use of small vessels, which was not the case before.

A significant increase in the number of ships for passenger traffic. For 10 years, the number of ships has increased 3 times. It became possible to use ships or spare parts for them of foreign production, not produced according to standards, developed

Table 1

Dynamics of the volume of passenger traffic by water transport in St. Petersburg in 2014-2016, people

Year In high-speed fleet On the river. Neva and the Gulf of Finland Through the city's canals Total Change in total passenger traffic to last year's level%

2014 401 176 267 531 703 591 1 372 298 -

2015 476 773 299 797 780 607 1 557 177 13,47

2016 549 035 310 468 848 759 1 708 262 9,7

botanized back in Soviet times. The development and construction of new projects for passenger ships is underway.

Speaking about the development of public water transport in St. Petersburg, a comparative analysis suggests itself with Venice, where water transport occupies a dominant position. The passenger traffic of water buses "Vaporetto" (literally "ferry") reaches a colossal amount of 200 million passengers per year, comparable to underground transport. For comparison: the busiest line of the St. Petersburg metro, Moskovsko-Petrogradskaya, carries about 250 million passengers a year. Public (liner) water transport in Venice of the North began to appear about 10 years ago and has a small market share, although the Venetian water bus was launched in 1881, and since 1978 it has been operated by a state-owned monopoly company. It is more common for the city on the Neva to rent pleasure boats for events - weddings and school proms or for guided group excursions. Due to the high cost of services and seasonality, the small-sized water transport of St. Petersburg cannot perform the functions of a taxi, as in Venice, while residents and guests of Venice simply have no choice. The congestion of the canals by the small fleet of gondolas in Venice is being addressed by limiting the number of licenses issued to operate these classic rowing boats. There can be no more than 425 gondoliers in total, and they must work in different shifts: day and night no more than 12 hours each. With such measures, the authorities wanted to achieve not only the ability to unload narrow Venetian canals from unwieldy (11 meters long and 1.4 meters wide) wooden gondolas, but also to “protect” them in this way. The residents of the city themselves asked to add this most important historical symbol of Venice to the UNESCO list of cultural heritage sites. The craft of making them passed from father to son, many

For centuries, the standards and materials of their construction were unchanged, recently they began to be created from plastic, and not according to old technologies, which indignant the inhabitants of the city with age-old traditions.

In St. Petersburg, with the rapid growth in the number of small boats and in the conditions of a sharp shortage of water space, it would not have been possible to do this. We do not have such traditions and continuity; among the many shipping companies of St. Petersburg, all of them are initially in different "weight categories" due to the different duration of their presence on the market. Private shipbuilding in Russia is a very costly project that allows you to "return" investments, sometimes only after 10 years. If we keep the number of small vessels now, it would not allow new shipping companies with modern modernized vessels to appear on the market, which means that competition would disappear, the quality of services would decrease, and the modernization of the fleet would slow down. And this is one of the most important conditions for the development of urban shipping.

One of the sensitive problems on the rivers and canals of the historic center remains the safety of navigation and navigation in a narrow space bounded by granite embankments and low spans of vaulted bridges. The installation of traffic lights on the bridge spans did not lead to the desired effect of eliminating water congestion, since it was impossible to predict where the vessel was heading - downstream or upstream. Everywhere on the ships, which are under the technical control of the Russian River Register of Shipping, the AIS surveillance system and the GLONASS satellite navigation system were introduced in order to prevent ships from entering prohibited areas at the wrong time. Conversations via radio are recorded in case of emergency situations, and they are now the most effective for eliminating possible accidents on the water. In a closed system, boatmasters of motor ships have been working for years, they constantly monitor the water level and are well aware of the dimensions of their own and "neighboring" vessels in order to agree on the radio station, who is letting whom through and which boards are convenient to leave. Everyone knows each other literally by name or call sign, which are the names of ships. Vessels sailing downstream take priority by default.

Based on global trends and forecasts for the development of foreign small-sized

fleet in St. Petersburg, in the future until 2025, it is possible to predict an annual increase in the number of ships in St. Petersburg in the range of up to 5%. While maintaining such positive dynamics of passenger traffic growth and an increase in excursion water transport units, a real shortage of water space is outlined in the historical part of St. Petersburg. So, already in 2020, movement along the circular route "Fontanka River - Kryukov Canal - Moyka River - Winter Canal - Neva River - Fontanka River" will be significantly hampered. The route, which previously took 60-70 minutes, will take 90-100 minutes, even on weekdays. And in 2025, on certain turning and cross sections of inland waterways, forced stops in traffic jams will reach 20-25 minutes to pass oncoming convoys of ships. In this state of affairs, it is extremely important to forecast and find a way out of this situation. Practice has shown that in the conditions of a closed channel space, the installation of traffic lights on the bridge dimensions does not work, but only slows down the movement. In 2013, in test mode, such a traffic light system was introduced, and then at the end of navigation it was eliminated. The decision to split routes seems to be quite simple. In other words, some of the ships based on the Neva can be launched exclusively along the front part of the Neva, and the ships that start their route in the canals can be closed without going out to the Neva. This kind of "synchronization" of course, will allow for some time to unload small rivers and canals, but from the point of view of the quality of the services provided, it will be difficult to justify. As a rule, the majority of consumers want to see the front Neva and small rivers and canals, and few will want to buy a ticket twice. Therefore, more radical ways of solving this problem suggest themselves.

The fact is that during inland rivers and canals from the Neva at the moment passenger ships can get in only one way - through the Laundry Bridge on the Fontanka River. The exit from the canals is carried out in two ways through the Winter Canal, as well as through the Fontanka, through the same Prachechny Bridge. And if inside the system of small rivers 150-200 ships simultaneously go in different directions, which in their dimensions cannot disperse under the vaulted bridges, then due to the limited connection with the main waterway of the city of Neva, a transport begins.

collapse, which is no longer uncommon even now, not only on weekends or holidays but also on sunny days.

Administratively, all waterways of St. Petersburg can be divided into three categories, where different rules and laws apply (Fig. 2):

1. Inland sea waters, including seaports. In St. Petersburg, these include all the waters west of the Blagoveshchensky Bridge, Tuchkov Bridge and the west of the Krestovsky and Elagin Islands.

2. Inland waterways of the Russian Federation. This includes the Neva River and its branches east of the Blagoveshchensky and Tuchkov bridges along the entire length of the city limits.

3. Inland waterways of the city of St. Petersburg. These are practically all the small rivers and canals of the city, starting from the Karpovka River in the north, and ending with the Obvodny Canal on the southern border of the historical building.

4. A section of the Bolshaya Neva with a length of 1350 meters, related to the internal sea routes, necessary to expand the zone of movement of excursion and pleasure boats.

All these waterways interact with each other and have different administrative

active submission. Now passenger, excursion ships cannot enter the west of the Blagoveshchensky Bridge, since there is already a zone of the Big Port of St. Petersburg, special port services work there, cargo ships are in the roadstead, large ferries moor. And for a long time this state of affairs was absolutely justified. But the city's hydrographic network is practically static, and the needs of city excursion transport are changing, and especially rapidly in recent years.

The Moika River flows into the Bolshaya Neva just between Novo-Admiralteisky Island in the north and Matisov Island in the south. And theoretically, this is another missing exit or entrance to the Neva, which, over time, will definitely be required to unload small rivers and canals. The Novo-Admiralteisky Canal located nearby can serve as an additional exit to the Neva for small vessels, and the Moika River, by its characteristics in this area, is excellent for the entry and exit of single-deck vessels of any type. Due to the overhaul of the Tuchkov Bridge on the Malaya Neva in 2015-2016. an exception has already been made, and double-decker, as well as high-speed passenger ships were allowed

Rice. 2. Waterways of the city of St. Petersburg. 1 - internal sea waters. 2 - inland waterways of the Russian Federation. 3 - inland waterways of the city of St. Petersburg. 4 - a section of the Bolshaya Neva River, related to the internal sea routes.

south of Vasilievsky Island to the Gulf of Finland in the directions to Petrodvorets and Kronstadt. In the foreseeable future, the need to open a section of the Bolshaya Neva from the Mining Institute to the Blagoveshchensky Bridge looks more than justified. A joint search for a compromise is needed for all water transport in the city. If only in the daytime you open a section of the Bolshaya Neva with a length of only 1350 meters, then this will certainly help to unload small rivers and canals by 40%. Thus, in this part of the Moika, the necessary berthing infrastructure will appear, new interesting routes, with a transfer hub in the New Holland Island cluster, which was originally conceived for the needs of the fleet. The integration of urban water transport will take place. This will give a real impetus to the development of this historical part of the city, located on the periphery and away from metro stations and public transport highways. It should be admitted that the ceremonial ensembles of the Promenade des Anglais and the Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment from the water are also very interesting for guests and residents of our city.

The status of the customs inspection zone for ferry ships mooring in this section of the water area is, of course, difficult in terms of changes in legislation. The process of bureaucratic changes and approvals can take more than one year, the more important it is to start the analysis

the current situation together with the authorities before. Recognizing the importance of St. Petersburg as the largest transport and transit hub for freight transport, which begins to take a queue before drawing bridges, for further movement towards Lake Ladoga, it is possible to limit access to the Bolshaya Neva, say, until midnight. Thus, it is possible to exclude various emergency situations in matters of safety of navigation and transportation of passengers, since we know that barges and bulk carriers in their dimensions can only pass at night, when the bridges are already opened, and the pleasure and excursion fleet is absent in the Bolshaya Neva according to the rules of navigation at night.

Water excursion and walking transportation is an integral part of the culture of the city, which was conceived as the sea capital of Russia. It is not without reason that almost every third guest of our city uses the opportunity to see the Venice of the North from the board of a motor ship or boat. Water tourism continues its development at the intersection of various industries, taking on the challenges of the new time. Decisions on the development of passenger shipping in the historical part of the city are possible only in the context of deep interaction of interested departments and participants in the transportation market to develop measures aimed at developing the unused waterways of St. Petersburg for various reasons.

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