Feeder ship

A feeder vessel (english feeder vessel or feeder ship, from english to feed, feed ',' feed ') is a purpose-built container or car transports cargo ship that is engaged as a supplier and distributor for large seagoing vessels and seaports. The loading takes place in the container terminals.

Types and Features

Feeder vessels can be equipped with its own loading gear and thus start up even small ports without efficient container bridges or cranes. Feeder vessels are a modern form of coasters.

This type of ship operates as a feeder and distributor for the large container and car terminals in seaports and deep-water ports that can be run from large to very large ships. To and from these ports a feeder transports cargoes to small coastal, canal and river ports.

Feeder vessels are also used when it is uneconomical for a large container ship to call at a port for charging or discharging only less container. Another reason may be ports with insufficient draft and a few moorings with the necessary infrastructure for the envelope.

The term includes feeder ship, dependent on the application, different vessel sizes. In Europe, most of these ships a few hundred standard containers ( TEU ) can transport, with the largest vessels used for transport to the Baltic ports ( Baltic Max Feeder ) take about 1400 TEU. In East Asia also drive feeder vessels with a capacity of more than 1,000 containers that supply the larger container vessels with a carrying capacity 5000-8000 containers.

Also in the inland navigation more and more container ships are used. The newest ships the Jowi - class transport up to 500 TEU of the Rhine estuary ports to inland.

Operating companies (selection)

• Unifeeder
• Team Lines
• Mini Container Pool
• Reederei Rudolf Schepers