Brief introduction to Roll on Roll Off Facility and its relevance in plugging gaps in India's transport infrastructure.

1. RO RO (ROLL ON ROLL OFF)FACILITIES : CURRENT STATE OF THE ART AND
ITS RELEVANCE TO FILL GAPS IN INDIA'S TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE:

2. RO-RO FACILITY :SALIENT FEATURES.
• THE TERM ‘LINKSPAN’ IS NOW INTERNATIONALLY USED TO
DESCRIBE THE MEANS BY WHICH VEHICLES DRIVE FROM SHORE
DIRECTLY ONTO A SHIP DECK, NO MATTER WHAT THE LEVEL OF
TIDE OR OF THE SHIP.
• REDUCE DISTANCE & TIME FOR ROAD VEHICLES BY FERRYING
THEM ACROSS A WATERBODY.
• VERY POPULAR IN EUROPE AND MEDITERNNEAN.SPECIALLY
BETWEEN UK & FRANCE.
• DOVER –CALAIS RORO OPERATORS DOING BRISK BUSSINESS
EVEN AFTER CHANNEL TUNNEL.
• RIPE TIME FOR IMPLEMENTATION IN INDIA WHERE SEVERAL
BRIDGES ACROSS CREEKS ARE DELAYED/UNVIABLE.

3. RO-RO : ADVANTAGES.
• FOLLOWING BENEFITS OF RO RO MAKE THEM ATTRACTIVE
SYMBOLS OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY .
• LITTLE OR NO LAND ACQUISTION COMPARED TO ROADS/BRIDGES.
• NO INCONVENIENCE TO PUBLIC DURING CONSTRUCTION.
• ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY.
• TWO WAY REDUCTION IN LOAD ON EXISITNG ROAD NETWORK BY
DIVERTING LARGE CARGO AND PASSENGER TRAFFIC TO SEA
ROUTE - LEADING TO LESS CONGESTION ON ROADS.
• NO DELAYS DUE TO SHIFTING OF LARGELY UNKNOWN
UNDERGROUND SERVICES AS IN CASE OF FLYOVERS.
• QUICK CONSTRUCTION FROM DRAWING BOARD TO ACTUAL
OPERATION WITHIN ONE YEAR POSSIBLE.

4. RO RO PROJECTS IN INDIA

KASHEC DESIGNED FIRST INTEGRAL LINKSPAN FOR
TEES PORT, UK IN 1989

KASHEC ARE LEAD DESIGNERS FOR FIRST RO RO IN
INDIA BETWEEN BHARUCH & BHAVNAGAR (DHAEJ –
GOGHA) IN GUJARAT.

KASHEC ARE ALSO DESIGNING FIRST 3 INTERGRAL
LINKSPANS ON EAST COAST OF MUMBAI.

5. MINI RO RO IN CREEKS ACROSS KONKAN

KASHEC DESIGNED MINI RO RO ARE FUNCTIONAL ACROSS 4 SITES IN KONKAN.

VERY POPULAR WITH LOCAL POPULATION AND PLANNED AT MANY MORE
SITES.

VERY CHEAP ALTERNATIVE TO CREEK BRIDGES .CAN BE BUILT AT EACH SITE
FOR AS LOW AS 8 CRORES.

IMAGES FOR RO RO BETWEEN DIGHI AND AGARDANDA.

6. SHARE OF RO-RO IN UK .
The design of link spans for roll-on-roll-off (roro) terminals involves an
exceptionally wide range of issues and requires a large number of
engineering competencies to ensure a successful outcome. It is not a
subject that is familiar to many civil or structural engineers or indeed
many port operators outside the ro-ro industry.
The ro-ro mode of sea
transport is increasingly
important, particularly in
the UK where it
represents a 30%
greater volume of trade
than that carried in
container-only mode
These trades rely on the
existence and reliability
of linkspans to transfer
cargoes from ship to
shore.

7. RO RO NETWORK ACROSS EUROPE.

8. DESIGN ASPECTS
• MINIMUM ONE FAVOURABLE LOCATION ON EACH SHORE.
• ABILITY TO ATTRACT TRAFFIC .
• FAVOURABLE BERTHING CONDITIONS.SHELTERED & DEEP
DRAFT.MINIMUM DOWNTIME DUE TO ADVESRE SEA STATES.
• OPTIMUM BERTH ALIGNMENT BASED ON MODEL
STUDIES.DYNAMIC MOORING STUDIES TO ESTIMATE LIMITING SEA
STATES /DOWNTIME.
• STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF LINKSPAN AND BERTHS.TYPE OF
LINKSPAN,BERTHING MODE AND SHIP IMPACT ON STRUCTURE..
• FUNCTIONAL DESIGN LIMITING LINKSPAN SLOPES,VEHICLE
GROUNDING CHECKS,BERTHING CLEARANCES.
• MASTER PLANNING OF ONSHORE TERMINAL TO ENSURE MINIMUM
TURNAROUND TIMEMAXIMUM TRIPS PER DAY.

9. ACCEPTABLE SEA STATES
& MOTIONS.
LIMITING SEA STATES FOR ABOVE MOTION LIMITS
WIND SPEED 10-15 m/s
WAVE HEIGHT 0.4-0.7m
PMF INSTALLED AT ABG
SHIPYARD DAHEJ.

10. STRUCTRAL DESIGN OF
LINKSPAN & BERTHS.
FOUR MOST COMMON TYPES OF LINKSPAN

11. BERTHING MODES

12. BERTHING MODES

13. FUNCTIONAL DESIGN ASPECTS.
• MOST LINKSPANS ARE BUILT BY FERRY OPERATORS AS THESE
NEED TO BE DESIGNED TO SUIT FOR SPECIFIC SHIP TYPES.
• SLOPES AND INTERFACES VIZ. JETTY TO LINKSPAN, LINKSPAN TO
PONTOON AND PONTOON TO SHIP NEED TO BE CAREFULLY
DESIGNED FOR EFFICIENT MOVEMENT OF ALL TYPES OF
VECHICLES AVOIDING GROUNDING OF UNDER CARRIAGE.
• CLEARANCE CHECKS FOR SHIP HULL AND DOLPHINS+FENDERS.
• CLEARANCE CHECKS TO AVOID FOULING OF MOORING ROPES
WITH FENDER PANELS.

14. HANDLING FACILITY OF A TERMINAL
• A TERMINAL’S CAPCAITY DEPENDS ON FOLLOWING:
• ON SHORE AREA FOR HANDLING/PARKING OF CARGO/VEHICLES
AND PASSENGERS.
• DRAFT AVAILABLE AT LOW TIDE.
• DOWNTIME DUE TO LIMITING SEA STATES BEING EXCEEDED
DURING A YEAR.
• STRUCTURAL CAPCITY OF BERTHING STRUCTURES + ENERGY
ABSORBPTION CAPACITY OF FENDERS.
• SHIP CAPACITY : NUMBER OF VEHICLES/ PASSENGERS/
TRUCKS.MEASURED IN LANE METERS.
• ONE ANE METER IS APPROXIMATELY 1M X 2 METERS AREA.
• 2.5 LANE METER FOR CAR 12.5 TO 15 LANEMETER FOR TRUCKS.