Delft University of Technology
Faculty Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
Transport Technology / Logistic Engineering



D.W. Visser Cassettes in Roll-on Roll-off transport.
Literature survey, Report 98.3.LT.5010, Transport Technology, Logistic Engineering.


This report contains a study on the subject of cassette transport, in particular the transport system of the forest products manufacturer SCA (Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget), who uses cassettes for transporting paper reels to the United Kingdom and the continent.

In Roll-on Roll-off transport, a new system has been in operation for a few years: the cassette system or rolux system. The cassette is a steel underlayer ans has no wheels, unlike its predecessor the rolltrailer or mafi. A translifter moves under the cassette, lifts it like a pumptrolley and transports it on the terminal and aboard the ship. Because of the simplicity of the cassette, it requires little maintenance, is relatively cheap and very stable aboard the ship.

The SCA ships are specifically designed for the cassettes, so-called "dedicated cassette ships". Within these vessels, the cassettes can be blockstowed, standing close to each other, without lashing of the cassettes to the deck. This saves a lot of time during shiploading and results in a very short port turnaround time.

The following cargoflow characteristics meet the requirements for the cassette system: The SCA ships pass four or five harbours in Sweden, come down to Tilbury and Rotterdam. The most important improvement is made on the service level. In the previous shipping concept all load and discharge ports were visited once a week. With the new vessels and the two routes, the Nortsea and the Baltic, the discharge terminals are visited twice a week at the same time. In order to reach this service level a fast and reliable cargo handling system was required for the cassette system. Second improvement is the low damage rate of the operation. During sea transport the cargo damage rate has been reduced to zero.

These two improvements provide the paper mills with a transport solution for a more "Just in Time" production planning.

In the future shipping there is more potential for the cassettes system or similar ideas. One area is the typical Port-to-Port transshipment, where the cassettes offers a good alternative for the rolltrailer. Another field is the Door-to-Door transshipment, where the cassette can be transported by other modalities, like rail and inland barge, or can be a carrier of intermodal units, as in the Multi Flat Cassette (MFC). These MFC's can take four or six 20" flats and require three times less space than the semi-trailer.

Especially the use of barges for inlandtransport can make an easy extension of the cassette system, without requiring high investments, since the infrastructure and most of the loading facilities already exist.

Reports on Logistic Engineering (in Dutch)
Modified: 2000.03.26; logistics@3mE.tudelft.nl , TU Delft / 3mE / TT / LT.