What are RoRo Vessels?
Most of us know the cross-channel variety, able to accept a mix of cars, coaches and trucks – shuttling between the UK and Europe. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg,
At one end of the spectrum, there are the smallest ferries – plying between the Scottish mainland and outlying islands, only able to accommodate a single truck. Moving up a gear, there are slightly larger ferries, crossing the Solent, between the UK and the Isle of Wight.
Disregarding the channel ferries, there are then a multitude of services across the Irish sea, followed by Scandinavia, Spain etc – before then taking into account the inter-Mediterranean vessels, ranging from Italy to Libya, France to Morocco – the list is endless.
At the top end, there are the “round the world”, mega-sized, car carriers – able to accept a wide variety of rolling cargo. In each and every case, it is important to know three basic things – the width of the loading ramp, the capacity of the loading ramp and the internal vessel height – an area where STG has unrivalled knowledge.
Perhaps the most challenging was when STG were asked to relocate one of the worlds largest demolition machines, on Caterpillar tracks, from the UK to Christchurch, New Zealand. Using a combination of three, inter-connecting, long distance RoRo vessels, the task was accomplished – this being part of the earthquake relief/rebuilding effort.
