Welcome  Innovation & Environment
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Innovation & Environment |
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An inland vessel is especially suited to goods transport. Because of the enormous scale of waterborne transport methods, relatively little (propelling) energy is required. This results in lower exhaust emissions. And although trucks are getting ever-cleaner engines, the use of energy by road-based transport, and therefore the environmental impact, will always be higher on a tonne/kilometre basis than that of waterborne transport. Ships create very little environmental inconvenience. There are no traffic jams on the water – not even when the number of ships increases dramatically. On the main transport axes inland shipping could actually double without the waterways becoming congested. In addition, inland shipping is safe. The chances of an accident involving a truck with a hazardous load are many times bigger than the chances of such an accident with a river barge. The fact that the river barge transports a bigger quantity per unit makes this advantage even more significant. Roads and railways are expensive to build and maintain, but most waterways were created by nature. Investment and maintenance costs are relatively low. Social costs are also low – the so-called external costs of, among other things, environmental pollution, safety and noise. All in all, inland shipping is a safe mode of transport that causes minimal environmental impact. What’s more, the sector is characterised by innovation.
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