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:
- Precious, valuable anf heavy or unhandy cargo;
- A highly controlled cargo flow;
- A loop type trade, with several ports within shortsea distance;
- Sufficient volume over a long period to justify the investment.
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.