Ferry crossings: features, varieties, conditions

Ferry crossings provide transport links between land sections separated by a water barrier. Usually this happens when it is impossible to build a bridge for various reasons or it is inadvisable to do so. The ferry can work not only to transport passengers. It can organize the movement of goods, road and even rail.

Ferry

Many passengers are poisoned by traveling on their cars. Overcoming the strait or the sea between islands and even continents can be done by ferry. On the lower decks there are closely packed and secure cars in close rows. Their owners at the same time enjoy comfortably traveling on the upper tiers.

Ferry crossings are often chosen as an alternative to traveling on the freeway. Especially if you have to cross several boundaries. In order not to stand in lines at the checkpoints, you can sway on the waves and calmly rest on a comfortable and comfortable ferry. For transportation to be efficient, transport companies use combined ferries. The largest of them have a length of more than 200 meters. The total length of the lanes for transport on them can exceed 4 kilometers, and they can be located on 10-12 decks. The maximum time for full load is only 1.5 hours.

Ferry crossing: features

In the most simplified form, the transport between the two banks can be arranged using an ordinary boat. It can carry passengers or oversized cargo. Several boats, connected together by common flooring, can withstand the car. The floating means can be propelled by the efforts of a rower or the energy of the engine. In this case, it is customary to talk about a self-propelled ferry. Between the two points on opposite banks it is possible to stretch the rope (cable, chain) and install the winch and the block device. Mounted at the free end of the rope the boat will move along the established route, and can be driven from the land.

Ferry crossings at a great distance between the banks are carried out by ships or pontoons. The most popular combined ships that can take on board cargo, road and rail transport, passengers. The design of ferries implies the presence of ramps on them. Loading and unloading points are equipped with quays, access roads, platforms, overpasses and other auxiliary structures for fast and convenient transportation of cargo, passengers and transport.

Kerch ferry crossing: work peculiarities

This transport route existed back in ancient times. The route crossed the Kerch Strait, which belongs to the water of the Azov Sea, in the narrowest place. Two beaches between the Crimean peninsula and the Krasnodar region are located from each other only five kilometers away. The way this modern cargo-passenger ferry overcomes in 20 - 30 minutes.

The transport communication is arranged round the clock. But it happens that the weather makes its own adjustments. In this case, ferry crossings work according to the real forecast. Ferries do not ply when the sea is violent. In normal conditions, the ferry carries up to 30 flights per day.

The attempts to build a bridge across the strait were unsuccessful. Strong storm winds and ice movements make it difficult to implement projects. During the USSR, not only passengers and cars were transported through the strait. In some periods, the passage of railway freight and passenger cars by special vessels was also established. The strait is shallow, the greatest depth is 18 meters, which makes it impossible to use ships with a large draft on the route.

Ferry crossing Crimea - Caucasus

The decision to organize it was taken by the USSR leadership after the failure of the railroad bridge project across the strait. Since 1954, ferries have been constantly running along the ferry. Passengers were transported by small boats. From the mid-70s of the XX century, they were replaced by cargo-passenger icebreakers.

Currently, four ferries run on the "Crimea-Kavkaz" line around the clock. "Protoporos 4" and "Victory" are larger vessels and can take on board 1200-1500 people and 140-200 cars. Ferries "Olympics" and "Crimea" can accommodate, respectively, 580-700 passengers and 145 vehicles.

Regional and intercontinental crossings

The longest routes covered by ferries are in the Pacific region. The longest (2,620 km) is between Seattle (USA) and Prince Rupert (Canada). Ferry crossing across the ocean is carried out by tugs. They can pull a few barges, on each of which are placed freight cars (up to 50 pieces).

In Europe, the most routes are overcome by ferries between the ports in Travemünde (Germany) and Hanko (Finland). Its length is 1018 km. The ferry has been functioning since 1975. Already at that time ferries with three decks were designed for transportation for more efficient arrangement of freight wagons.