Waterborne Hinterland Transports for Floating Port Terminals

Abstract

Port terminals on floating modular platforms are a conceivable solution for the problem of limited space and water depths restrictions of ports in estuary regions. A design of a dedicated Transport&Logistic hub has been developed in the scope of the Horizon 2020 project Space@Sea. This paper addresses dedicated options of waterborne hinterland transports and discusses opportunities for bypassing onshore terminals by means of river-sea or sea-going inland vessels. A tailored simulation method for ship operations utilises a specific cost model and is applied to derived demand scenarios. Cargo flow statistics of an onshore port have been projected onto the hub to identify relevant waterborne transports to the hinterland. Three different vessel types are implemented, whereas inland vessels are considered with two different sizes. A comparison of round trip durations and transport costs per transported container between a floating terminal and a relevant hinterland port pointed out, that a non-stop connection with sea-going inland vessels is the economically favourable solution. A feeder vessel is the faster solution in coastal waters but it can not compensate the time saved by omitted terminal visits on a direct hinterland connection.