Text 3a

GENERAL CARGO SHIPS

Cargo ships, or freighters, can be divided into four groups, according to the kind of cargo they carry. These groups are general cargo ships, tankers, dry bulk carriers, and multipurpose ships. General cargo ships carry what are called “packaged” items — goods that are put in packages or that form a package in them. Packaged items include such products as chemi­cals, foods, furniture, machinery, motor vehicles, shoes, steel, textiles, and whiskey. Tankers carry petroleum or other liquid cargo. Dry bulk carriers haul coal, grain, iron ore, and similar products that can be loaded in bulk (loose) on the vessels. Multipurpose ships carry differ­ent classes of cargo — for example, liquid and general cargo — at the same time.

Cargo ships can also be divided into two types ac­cording to the service they offer shippers— liner service or tramp service. Cargo liners run on fixed schedules along certain trade routes and charge published rates. They usually transport only general cargo. Some cargo liners also carry passengers. Those that carry more than 12 passengers are called combination or passenger-cargo ships. These vessels must meet safety standards set up for passenger ships. Large shipping companies operate cargo liners. Tramp ships do not sail on regular trade routes or have

P

ic. 9. Container ship

regular schedules. They wander the sea-lanes like taxicabs and can be hired to haul almost anything, anywhere, anytime. Small shipping companies and private individuals operate these ships.

Since World War II, the traditional general cargo ship has steadily become more advanced. Today, it has powerful, electrically driven cranes and derricks. It can be loaded at the side and stern as well as at the hatches. It has automatic engine room controls and automatic navigation equipment. Yet the traditional general cargo ship has steadily been de­clining in use today, chiefly because of high operating costs. A typical ship may carry automobiles, sacks of flour, cases of whiskey, television sets, airplane engines, crates of chinaware, and a variety of other items. Loading and un­loading such a mixture of items of varying shapes and sizes requires much time and labour and is, therefore, ex­pensive. As a result, the number of ships designed to carry only one type of cargo—tankers and dry bulk carri­ers, for exmple—has increased. Revolutionary versions of the general cargo freighter have also been devel­oped. They include container ships, r

oll-on/roll-off ships, and LASH ships.

The largest container ships measure about 700 feet (210 meters) long. They can carry over a thousand 20-foot (6-meter) containers that hold a total of about 12,000 tons

Pic. 10. A ro-ro passenger car ferry

of cargo. Container ships eliminate the individual hatches, holds, and derricks of the traditional general cargo ves­sel. The hull of a container ship is simply an enormous warehouse divided into cells by vertical guide rails. The cells are designed to hold cargo in prepackaged units called containers. Most containers consist of a standard sized aluminum box that measures either 20 or 40 feet long. A 40-foot container is about the size of a railroad car.

Roll-on/roll-off ships take containers mounted on a framework of wheels like a truck trailer. These ships have a stern opening and side openings. Dockworkers drive the containers up ramps onto the ships and then, by way of inboard ramps or elevators, take them to their assigned places. Roll-on/roll-off ships also haul cars, buses, house trailers, trucks, and any other cargo that can be rolled aboard. An international partnership, the Atlantic Container Line, put the world's largest roll- on/roll-off ships into operation in 1987. The five ships are each 958 feet (292 meters) long and can do 18 knots. Each one can carry about 1,100 40-foot (12-meter) con­tainers and about 1,000 cars and trucks.

LASH ships are huge freighters that carry preloaded seagoing lighters (barges) stacked one upon the other. The term LASH stands for Lighter Aboard Ship. The lighters are loaded at upriver ports with any kind of cargo and then towed by tugs to the seaport. There, cranes on the carrier ship lift the barges on board. The freighter then carries the barges to a seaport across the ocean. There, the barges are lowered into the harbor and then towed upstream to their final ports.

LASH ships measure up to 875 feet (267 meters) long and 107 feet (33 meters) wide and can travel at 20 knots. They can hold from 70 to 90 barges, each of which can carry 370 tons of cargo. The first LASH ship, the Acadia Forest, began operation in 1969 between New Orleans, La., and Rotterdam, the Nether­lands. A United States line operates the Norwegian-owned ship.

All these modern ships need spe­cial port facilities. Throughout the world, ports are being built or modernized to handle these vessels. The new facilities have giant cranes and other lifting equip­ment because container ships have few or no derricks. In port, the ships chiefly need large open areas where their thousands of containers can be left while waiting loading or pickup. The most advanced ports use com­puters to assign the loading and pickup areas.

Ex.7. Answer the questions:

1. What groups can cargo ships be divided into? What is the principle of this division? 2. What do we called “packaged items”? 3. What two types can cargo ships also be divided into ac­cording to the service they offer? 4. Can cargo ships offer passenger service as well? 5. Why has the traditional general cargo ship steadily been de­clining in use today? 6. What are the so-called “revolutionary” versions of the general cargo freighter? 7. How does the container ship differ from other types of cargo ships? 8. What kind of cargo can roll-on/roll-off ships carry? 9. In what way can lighters cross the oceans? 10. What for do ships chiefly need large open areas in modern ports?

Ex. 8. Agree or disagree with the following statements. Give grounds to your answer:

1. Cargo ships are divided into several groups, according to the kind of cargo they carry. 2. Cargo liners and tramps run on fixed schedules. 3. Cargo ships can also carry passengers. 4. The number of general cargo ships is steadily increasing nowadays. 5. Container ships carry cargo in large containers put on deck. 6. A lighter is a kind of a barge. 7. Though lighters sail mainly in fresh waters, they are projected to make sea and voyages as well if necessary. 8. The appearance of modern ports with special facilities resulted from the appearance of new kinds of freighters.

Ex. 9. Translate into English:

1. Грузовые суда делятся на четыре группы в зависимости от груза, который они перевозят. 2. Суда, перевозящие нефть или другие жидкие грузы, называются танкерами. 3. Это судно ходит согласно установленному расписанию по определенному маршруту и взимает фиксированную оплату за перевозки. 4. Суда этой частной компании похожи на такси – их можно нанять в любое время для перевозки чего угодно куда угодно. 5. Число грузовых судов, предназначенных для перевозки любых грузов, в настоящее время значительно снизилось, в основном, из-за высокой стоимости перевозок. 6. Корабль для контейнерных перевозок – это просто большой пакгауз, разделенный на отсеки для перевозки грузов в предварительно загруженных контейнерах. 7. Корабли для перевозки лихтеров перевозят через океан баржи, которые просто устанавливаются на палубе друг на друга. 8. Для погрузочно-разгрузочных работ современному порту нужны огромные краны и другое специальное оборудование.

Ex. 10. Define the main topic and idea of the text, split it into the logical parts, and make up the plan of the text.

Ex. 11. Abstract the text.

Ex. 12. Skim the second part of the text and give detailed answers to the questions below: