The River Danube and Its Importance for Traffic-Transport System of Serbia and Yugoslavia
by Zoran Radmilović, Radovan Zobenica, Zlatko Hrle and Vladeta Čolić [1]
abstract of article presented at the XII International Conference "Danube - River of Cooperation" (October, 11-14 2001) and published in Danubius 1-2/2001
The river Danube is the backbone of Yugoslav inland waterway system and together with Trans-European inland waterway Rhine-Main-Danube represents a main communication in the network of European inland waterways.
The river Danube, as big river, is distinguished from all other river systems by its particularity. The Danube is not specific for its natural properties, such as total length of some 2,680 km or catchments area of 817,000 km2, but for its strategic and economic position in Europe. That is the only river on the planet passing ten countries being fully navigable.
Yugoslavia is central Danubian country where the Danube navigable flow splits up into two parts, considering its total length from the mouth at Sulina and a town on of Kelheim in Germany near by the entry to Danube-Main canal. Yugoslav sector of Danube, considering its morphological and traffic characteristics, is clearly divided into three relatively independent sequential links:
Middle Danube (from Hungarian border to the right bank of the river in town of Golubac) in the length of 385 km;
Iron Gate Sector on Danube (from the town of Golubac to the town of Kladovo - right river bank) in the length of 117 km;
Lower Danube (from the town of Kladovo to the Balkan border) in the length of 86 km.
Three significant and large tributaries flows into Danube in the Yugoslav part of river Danube, and that are rivers Sava and Tisa, two fully navigable rivers by their total length (Sava 207 km and Tisa 164 km), and river Velika Morava partly navigable in tributary sector, for smaller vessels only.
According to the international classification of the system of inland waterways European (Economic Commission - UN), the Yugoslav part of river Danube is ranked in the highest class international waterway, as VI and VII class, permitting the navigation of large pushers barge tows with carrying capacity over 20,000 tones and river-sea and sea-river ships with carrying capacity of 5,000 tones.
In addition to the natural inland waterways, the Yugoslav navigable network includes the system of artificial navigable inland waterways, i.e. canalized system of Danube-Tisa-Danube in Vojvodina area in the length of 600 km. Vessels and tows having capacity of 500 to 1,000 tones can use this system.
The implementation of new technologies and river transport development primarily depends on determined cargo flow in terms of cargo volume and quality, and on synchronized utilization of three main subsystems of river transport: river fleet, ports and harbors and inland waterways. We have also to take into the account the exogenous and endogenous conditions of river transport operation in Danube corridor.
According to the current assessments the intensive development of river transport in Danube corridor may be expected. Existing research of the widely use of river Danube as key European transport resource confirms dramatic increase of river transport and improves the integration of river transport system to integral, intermodal and multimodal transport. In that sense, we are expecting the fast development of container an Ro-Ro transport and direct connections between river and sea transport in the directions Danube-East and Danube-West across Yugoslavia.
[1] Professors at the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering, University of Belgrade
Address: Vojvode Stepe 305, 11000 Belgrade, SCG
This article was downloaded / printed from www.danube-cooperation.com