Fujifilm

A conveying of vehicles is a Navire used mainly for the transport of car S and others Véhicule S, other than any other type of cargo liner. They are especially used on the roads Europe - Asia - the United States, for the transport of new cars.

Since the beginning of the Years 1970, the imports and exports of vehicles very strongly progressed and of new types of ship able to transport vehicles appeared. They were at the beginning ships carrier S. In 1973 the Japanese Maritime company K Line built the European Highway , the first pure conveyer of cars who could embark 4 200 cars. Today the conveyers of cars and their close relations cousins, the mixed conveyers conveys/truck became a class with share of ships. One easily distinguishes them by their very square structure and entirely closed, kind of gross limps of steel covering all the length and the width of the hull (important Fardage) with large folding slopes with the back and on the side of the ship.

The composite conveyers of vehicles cars/trucks have certain opening bridges allowing to adapt the height between the bridges to the height of the transported vehicles Ainsi a ship of 6 500 units cars can have 3 of its twelve bridges of which the height can vary from 1,7 meter (standard height of the trucks) to 6,7 meters to embark trucks but then removing the use of one of the bridges. The capacity of the large conveying ships of current vehicles used in transcontinental traffic rises to 6.400 cars. Most of this fleet of ships exceeds the 200 meters length and the 30 meters broad. Some ships exceed from now on the 250 meters length (Tamesis class) and the largest current conveyer, the MV Nice one, of the suédo-Norwegian company Wallenius-Wilhelmsen, can embark more than 7.200 cars. There exist projects of conveyers of more than 270 meters length with a capacity of more than 8.500 vehicles for the end of the decade.

The loading and the unloading of this type of ship require a large staff, each vehicle being led inside and outside the ship by drivers. The ship has its own mobile slopes for the access of the vehicles, enabling him to laterally charge and discharge the vehicles on a standard quay. But from now on certain large ports have specific terminals for this kind of ship allowing of the faster harbor operations.

The principal maritime companies to exploit conveyers of vehicles are:

Wallenius-Wilhelmsen (Sweden/Norway)
Hoegh-Autoliners (Norway)
EUKOR Because Carriers (South Korea), the fleet of conveyer of the Hyundai Merchant Marine became in 2003 property of Wallenius Lines AB for 40%, Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA for 40% and the 20% remainders of Kia Motors Corporation and Hyundai Motor Company.
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (" K" Line) (Japan)
NYK Line (Japan)
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (Japan)

Accident

The December 14th 2002, with 2:00 of the morning and by strong fog, the Tricolor , conveyer of vehicles of the Norwegian company Wallenius, a size of 190 out of 42 meters and transporting 2 862 luxury cars and 77 machines of building site runs on a Haut-fond in the strait of the Pas-de-calais to 30 km with broad of Dunkirk, after having been approached by a Porte-conteneurs. The ship had charged with the BMW, of the Volvo and of the Saab to Zeebrugge in Belgium and went to Southampton to Great Britain where it was to charge with other vehicles before leaving for the United States. The ship (estimated value 40 million euros) and the cargo (49 million euros) were lost.

External bonds

Site of Hoegh Autoliners with photograph and capacity of the fleet
Personal site of photographs of ships

Photographs of the ships of Wallenius
Photographs of the ships of the HUAL, Hoegh AutoLiners

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