Roll-on/Roll-off ship (Ro-Ro) - a watercraft for the carriage of goods on a wheelbase: cars, trucks, railway wagons.The principal difference of this type of ships is the horizontal loading and out-loading with the help of the reclining bow or (as a rule) the stern; such a construction is called “appareil” or “ramp”.
Types of roll-on/roll-off ships:
“ro-ro” type - only horizontal method of loading: rolling technique, loads on euro-pallets;
“lo-ro” type - mixed type of loading: horizontal and vertical (using a crane).
The importance of international maritime transport and the unification of general cargoes themselves led to the need for new transportation technologies and, correspondingly, the creation of new ships for these purposes: ro-ro ships with a horizontal ro-ro loading method. They are intended for the transportation of cars, other wheeled vehicles, roll trailers, containers on semi-trailers or platforms, as well as cargo on pallets or euro-pallets, which are delivered to the cargo decks of the ro-ro ships with forklifts.
According to design features, targets, waterways and the types of cargo, the ro-ro ships can be divided into the following types of watercraft:
- cargo ro-ro ship;
- automobile-passenger and railway ferries transporting ship;
- car carriers;
- combined and multipurpose ships.