RO RO (ROLL ON ROLL OFF)FACILITIES : CURRENT STATE OF THE ART AND ITS RELEVANCE TO FILL GAPS IN INDIA'S TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE:

RO-RO FACILITY :SALIENT FEATURES.

• THE TERM ‘LINKSPAN’ IS NOW INTERNATIONALLY USED TO DESCRIBE THE MEANS BY WHICH VEHICLES DRIVE FROM SHORE DIRECTLY ONTO A SHIP DECK, NO MATTER WHAT THE LEVEL OF TIDE OR OF THE SHIP.

• REDUCE DISTANCE & TIME FOR ROAD VEHICLES BY FERRYING THEM ACROSS A WATERBODY.

• VERY POPULAR IN EUROPE AND MEDITERNNEAN.SPECIALLY BETWEEN UK & FRANCE.

• DOVER –CALAIS RORO OPERATORS DOING BRISK BUSSINESS EVEN AFTER CHANNEL TUNNEL.

• RIPE TIME FOR IMPLEMENTATION IN INDIA WHERE SEVERAL BRIDGES ACROSS CREEKS ARE DELAYED/UNVIABLE.

RO-RO : ADVANTAGES.

• FOLLOWING BENEFITS OF RO RO MAKE THEM ATTRACTIVE SYMBOLS OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY .

• LITTLE OR NO LAND ACQUISTION COMPARED TO ROADS/BRIDGES.

• NO INCONVENIENCE TO PUBLIC DURING CONSTRUCTION.

• ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY.

• TWO WAY REDUCTION IN LOAD ON EXISITNG ROAD NETWORK BY DIVERTING LARGE CARGO AND PASSENGER TRAFFIC TO SEA ROUTE - LEADING TO LESS CONGESTION ON ROADS.

• NO DELAYS DUE TO SHIFTING OF LARGELY UNKNOWN UNDERGROUND SERVICES AS IN CASE OF FLYOVERS.

• QUICK CONSTRUCTION FROM DRAWING BOARD TO ACTUAL OPERATION WITHIN ONE YEAR POSSIBLE.

RO RO PROJECTS IN INDIA KASHEC DESIGNED FIRST INTEGRAL LINKSPAN FOR

TEES PORT, UK IN 1989

KASHEC ARE LEAD DESIGNERS FOR FIRST RO RO IN INDIA BETWEEN BHARUCH & BHAVNAGAR (DHAEJ –GOGHA) IN GUJARAT.

KASHEC ARE ALSO DESIGNING FIRST 3 INTERGRAL LINKSPANS ON EAST COAST OF MUMBAI.

MINI RO RO IN CREEKS ACROSS KONKAN KASHEC DESIGNED MINI RO RO ARE FUNCTIONAL ACROSS 4 SITES IN KONKAN.

VERY POPULAR WITH LOCAL POPULATION AND PLANNED AT MANY MORE SITES.

VERY CHEAP ALTERNATIVE TO CREEK BRIDGES .CAN BE BUILT AT EACH SITE FOR AS LOW AS 8 CRORES.

IMAGES FOR RO RO BETWEEN DIGHI AND AGARDANDA.

SHARE OF RO-RO IN UK .

The design of link spans for roll-on-roll-off (roro) terminals involves an exceptionally wide range of issues and requires a large number of engineering competencies to ensure a successful outcome. It is not a subject that is familiar to many civil or structural engineers or indeed many port operators outside the ro-ro industry.

The ro-ro mode of sea transport is increasinglyimportant, particularly in the UK where it represents a 30% greater volume of tradethan that carried in container-only mode These trades rely on the existence and reliability of linkspans to transfer cargoes from ship to shore.

RO RO NETWORK ACROSS EUROPE.

DESIGN ASPECTS

• MINIMUM ONE FAVOURABLE LOCATION ON EACH SHORE.

• ABILITY TO ATTRACT TRAFFIC .

• FAVOURABLE BERTHING CONDITIONS.SHELTERED & DEEP DRAFT.MINIMUM DOWNTIME DUE TO ADVESRE SEA STATES.

• OPTIMUM BERTH ALIGNMENT BASED ON MODEL STUDIES.DYNAMIC MOORING STUDIES TO ESTIMATE LIMITING SEA STATES /DOWNTIME.

• STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF LINKSPAN AND BERTHS.TYPE OF LINKSPAN,BERTHING MODE AND SHIP IMPACT ON STRUCTURE..

• FUNCTIONAL DESIGN LIMITING LINKSPAN SLOPES,VEHICLE GROUNDING CHECKS,BERTHING CLEARANCES.

• MASTER PLANNING OF ONSHORE TERMINAL TO ENSURE MINIMUM TURNAROUND TIMEMAXIMUM TRIPS PER DAY.

ACCEPTABLE SEA STATES & MOTIONS.

LIMITING SEA STATES FOR ABOVE MOTION LIMITS

WIND SPEED 10-15 m/s

WAVE HEIGHT 0.4-0.7m

PMF INSTALLED AT ABG SHIPYARD DAHEJ.

STRUCTRAL DESIGN OF LINKSPAN & BERTHS.

FOUR MOST COMMON TYPES OF LINKSPAN

BERTHING MODES

BERTHING MODES

FUNCTIONAL DESIGN ASPECTS.

• MOST LINKSPANS ARE BUILT BY FERRY OPERATORS AS THESE NEED TO BE DESIGNED TO SUIT FOR SPECIFIC SHIP TYPES.

• SLOPES AND INTERFACES VIZ. JETTY TO LINKSPAN, LINKSPAN TO PONTOON AND PONTOON TO SHIP NEED TO BE CAREFULLY DESIGNED FOR EFFICIENT MOVEMENT OF ALL TYPES OF VECHICLES AVOIDING GROUNDING OF UNDER CARRIAGE.

• CLEARANCE CHECKS FOR SHIP HULL AND DOLPHINS+FENDERS.

• CLEARANCE CHECKS TO AVOID FOULING OF MOORING ROPES WITH FENDER PANELS.

HANDLING FACILITY OF A TERMINAL

• A TERMINAL’S CAPCAITY DEPENDS ON FOLLOWING:

• ON SHORE AREA FOR HANDLING/PARKING OF CARGO/VEHICLES AND PASSENGERS.

• DRAFT AVAILABLE AT LOW TIDE.

• DOWNTIME DUE TO LIMITING SEA STATES BEING EXCEEDED DURING A YEAR.

• STRUCTURAL CAPCITY OF BERTHING STRUCTURES + ENERGY ABSORBPTION CAPACITY OF FENDERS.

• SHIP CAPACITY : NUMBER OF VEHICLES/ PASSENGERS/ TRUCKS.MEASURED IN LANE METERS.

• ONE ANE METER IS APPROXIMATELY 1M X 2 METERS AREA.

• 2.5 LANE METER FOR CAR 12.5 TO 15 LANEMETER FOR TRUCKS.