With the Watertruck+ project, Flanders and Europe want to encourage freight to move from the road to the water by introducing a new concept consisting of innovative barges and push boats. Concordia Shipbuilding BV will soon be starting construction of the vessels.
If all goes according to plan, the first barges will be launched in the spring of 2018.
Watertruck+
Watertruck+ is an innovative CEF TEN-T project from the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA), which is being implemented by Waterwegen & Zeekanaal nv, De Vlaamse Waterweg nv and the centre of expertise for Smart Mobility at the Antwerp Management School, acting upon instructions from the Flemish Government. The aim of the project is to revive freight transport over small inland waterways.
The concept is simple: small, innovative barges, either self-propelled or not, are loaded from the quays along small waterways. From there, they leave for the larger waterways where they continue to sail in convoy.
18 Barges
As many as 17 candidates put forward an offer for the tender contract for the construction of the vessels, and after much deliberation, it was eventually awarded to Concordia Shipbuilding. They will build the first 18 barges. The total cost for this order amounts to EUR 9,545,000. The exact order includes:
- The construction of 10 self-propelled barges, CEMT class I, with a length of 38.50 metres, a breadth of 5.05 metres, and a draught of 2.80 metres. Of these, 6 units are to be equipped with a bow thruster and 4 units with a bow and a stern thruster.
- The construction of 2 barges, CEMT class II “short”, with a length of 40.00 metres, a breadth of 6.60 metres, and a draught of 2.80 metres; these are not self-propelled.
- The construction of 6 barges, CEMT class II “long”, with a length of 50.00 metres, a breadth of 6.60 metres, and a draught of 2.80 metres; three of these are to be equipped with a bow thruster.
New Procedure for Push Boats
In terms of push boats, no suitable tenders were received. Watertruck+ bvba therefore decided to split up the procedure into, on the one hand, the design of the vessel, and its construction on the other. For the first phase, the design, the contract was awarded to INEC.
At the start of 2018, a request for quotation will be issued for the construction and outfitting of the vessels. It is expected that the push boats will be operational at the beginning of 2019.
Operation of Vessels
The Watertruck fleet will be operated by the private operators Group De Cloedt (B) and André Celis (B) for transport in Flanders and Northern France.
Dominique Van Hecke, president of Watertruck+ bvba: 'These 18 vessels will, for the duration of the pilot project, carry almost 300,000 tonnes annually. This is the equivalent of more than 15,000 trips by truck per year. The loads will consist of new flows and of cargo that is currently being transported by road.'
The trial runs with these vessels will be carried out between summer 2018 and March 2020.
Possible Extension to 31 Vessels
In December, a third call will be launched on the Watertruck+ website, aiming to get even more cargo flows to make the modal shift to the waterways. Candidates can formulate their proposals, which makes it possible to use the project’s potential to construct and use an additional vessels during this phase. This way, a possible extension to 31 vessels can be achieved.
The delivery of the first vessels is planned for the spring of 2018. The entire fleet will then be in use by the end of 2018.
