classification of European Inland Waterways

File:Canal basin, Forth & Clyde Canal, Falkirk.jpgs and a Widebeam in the UK]]

File:Peniches a Saint-Mammès P1080427.JPGs in Saint-Mammès]]

The need to standardize the size of inland waterways is related to the later stages of industrialization. The development of the British canal system started in the mid-18th century. It led to canals and locks of many different sizes. This became a problem when businessmen wanted to use the canals for long distance transport.{{sfn|Webster|1885|p=XXVII}} On the other hand, there was some kind of standardization. The usual beam of boats fit for canals and rivers was {{convert|14|ft|m|2|abbr=off}}. On most canals, it was {{convert|7|ft|m|2|abbr=off}}.{{sfn|Jamieson|1837|p=}} Just before World War I, a government commission advised to upgrade and standardize the four principal waterways known as 'the cross'. It probably thought of 100 ton barges.{{sfn|Merchant|1912|p=484}}.

In France, the Freycinet program was approved in 1879. It provided for:

• the nationalization of most inland waterways;
• their improvement and standardization; and
• new canals of about 800 miles (1300 km) length.

It led to a big increase in inland navigation.{{sfn|Merchant|1912|p=480}}. The 1879 law that established the Freycinet gauge, which shows similarities with how the CEMT worked in the 1950s. The law established that there were 30 main waterways ({{lang|fr|lignes principales}}) in France. These had to be 2 m deep. Locks had to be 38.50 m long and 5.20 m wide. Air draft below bridges had to be at least 3.70 m. The law would be executed as means became available.{{sfn|République Française|1879|p=121}}

In Germany several types of barges developed based on the main waterways. The older types were based on the rivers. Near the Rhine there were e.g. the Mainschiff and Moselschiff. In the east, there were types like the Finow-Masskahn and the Breslauer Masskahn. Newer types could be found on the canals in the west of Germany. Here, the 'French' Peniche and the 'Belgian' Kempenaar appeared. The most important types the 600-770t type based on the Dortmund–Ems Canal and the 1350t type based on the Rhine–Herne Canal. Together, these canals connected north and central Germany to the Rhine.{{sfn|Dehnert|1950|p=28}}

In Belgium, the Campine Canal formed the connection between the Scheldt and the Meuse. In about 1900, this canal and most of its branches had locks with 7 m wide gates and a useful length of between 50 and 56 m. The canal itself was only 2.10 m deep.{{sfn|Smeesters|1902|p=115}} The Campine Barge ({{lang|nl|Kempenaar}}) was based on these dimnensions. The Albert Canal, opened in 1939 was much bigger.

The official CEMT classification was issued in 1992.{{sfn|European Conference of Ministers of Transport|1992|p=1}} Class I corresponds to the historical Freycinet gauge. The larger river classification sizes are focused on the carriage of intermodal containers in convoys of barges propelled by a push-tug. Most of the canals of the United Kingdom have smaller locks and would fall below the dimensions in the European classification system.

In 2004, the standards were extended with four smaller sizes RA–RD covering recreational craft, which had originally been developed and proposed via PIANC.{{cite report|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x2ttr-W4Xp8C|title=Standards for the Use of Inland Waterways by Recreational Craft|publisher=PIANC|author=RecCom Working Group 8|isbn=2-87223-115-3|year=2000|accessdate=11 July 2012|pages=30–32|language=English|issue=103}} The proposal to add the recreational sizes was adopted by United Nations Economic Commission for Europe resolution 52.{{cite report|url=http://www.crosscut-nwe.eu/fileadmin/user_upload/meetings/presentations/Crosscut_Lille_27Jun07_-_11-Lamsweerde.pdf|title=Classification of Recreational waterways|publisher=Stichting Recreatietoervaart Nederland|first=David|last=Edwards-May|date=3 July 2007|accessdate=11 July 2012|location=Lille}}{{Dead link|date=July 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web|url=http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/doc/2013/sc3wp3/ECE-TRANS-SC3-164-Rev1e_01.pdf|work=European Recreational Inland Navigation Network|title=Resolution No.52|publisher=Economic Commission for Europe Inland Transport Committee|author=Working Party on Inland Water Transport|location=Geneva|date=19 November 2004}}

In 2015 the European Court of Auditors published a rather critical report about the progress of the improvement of the European system of inland waterways. It concluded that the member states were not doing enough to facilitate the modal shift from road to waterway transport. Part of this was due to a failure to focus on eliminating the bottlenecks in the inland navigation network.{{sfn|European Court of Auditors|2015}}

• Unified Deep Water System of European Russia (110-210m length max, min lock beam 14.3m, 2,5-3.5-4m draft)
• Baltimax (15,2m draft, the same as NeoPanamax)
• Bangkok Port (172m length, 25m beam -with special permit 30m-, 8,2m draft), Bangkokmax of 1944 TEU
• Seawaymax (USA Great Lakes docks, 8,08m draft), Chesapeake & Delaware Canal (draft 10,7m)
• Paraguay River (almost 2,5m in middle river, 1,6m in upper river)
• Grand Canal (China)
• Saimaa Canal (Finland, max length 82,5 m, beam 12,6m, draft 4,2m)
• Rhine–Main–Danube Canal for ships of 110x11,45x2,5m (up to 135m length with a special permit)

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{citation |last=Webster |first=Robert Grant |year=1885 |title=The Law Relating to Canals: Comprising a Treatise on Navigable Rivers and Canals... |publisher=Evems and Sons, London |url=https://books.google.nl/books?id=_SNQAQAAMAAJ }}
• {{citation |last=Jamieson |first=Alexander |year=1837 |title=A Dictionary of Mechanical Science, Arts, Manufactures... |publisher=Henry Fisher, London |url=https://books.google.nl/books?id=Nu-3W3hxFwkC }}
• {{citation |last=Merchant |first=Ely Othman |year=1912 |title=A Comparison of American and European Waterways... |publisher=Government Printing Office |url=https://books.google.nl/books?id=jLY_AAAAYAAJ }}
• {{citation |author=République Française |year=1879 |work=Bulletin des lois de la République française |title=Loi relative au classement et à l'améliaration des Voies navigables |publisher= Imprimerie nationale |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k214107p/f152.item }}
• {{cite report |author=European Conference of Ministers of Transport|date=12 June 1992|accessdate=2018-08-30|title=Resolution No. 92/2 on New Classification of Inland Waterways |url=https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/docs/wat19922e.pdf |issue=CEMT/CM(92)6/Final}}
• {{citation |author=European Court of Auditors|year=2015|title=Inland Waterway Transport in Europe: no significant improvements in modal share and navigability conditions since 2001 |url=https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/SR15_01/SR15_01_EN.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=27 December 2021 |website=European Court of Auditors|publisher=Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union |page=37 |publication-place=Luxembourg |doi=10.2865/158305 |isbn=978-92-872-1948-0 |issn=1977-5679 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318032753/http://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/SR15_01/SR15_01_EN.pdf |archive-date=2015-03-18 }}
• {{citation |last=Dehnert |first=Hans |year=1950 |title=Verkehrswasserbau |publisher=Walter de Gruyter & Co, Berlin |url=https://books.google.nl/books?id=TnyVDwAAQBAJ }}
• {{citation |last=Smeesters |first=Constant |year=1902 |title=L'essor industriel et commercial du peuple belge |publisher=Société belge de Libriarie, Burxelles |url=https://books.google.nl/books?id=ujBRAQAAMAAJ }}

• Waterway article including a reference to the European classification
• [http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/main/sc3/European_inland_waterways_-_2012.pdf Map of the European Inland Waterway Network], United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (4th edition, Geneva 2012), without the recreational navigation categories. [http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/doc/2012/sc3wp3/ECE-TRANS-SC3-144rev2e.pdf Waterway Standards].
• European Waterways Map and Directory, 5th ed., David Edwards-May (Transmanche, 2014), {{ISBN|979-1-094429-00-6}}

{{Expand Czech|Klasifikace evropských vnitrozemských vodních cest|date=December 2022}}

Category:Water transport in Europe

Category:Transport and the European Union

Category:Locks (water navigation)

Category:Classification systems