User:Wowservices/sandbox

Pallet Shuttle Barge or PSB
A Pallet Shuttle Barge or PSB is a cargo ship designed to operate on inland waterways for the transport of goods on pallets or in big bags. It is a type of catamaran with two parallel hulls supporting a vast cargo deck. It was designed to offer a competitive alternative to freighter trucks to reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions. One PSB has the same loading capacity as 10 cargo trucks cutting carbon emissions by a third.

Compared with traditional freighters the PSB also offers a number of advantages:
 * A small draft (2,2 m when fully laden) allowing access to shallow waterways


 * A safe and shorter loading and unloading process because the goods do not need to be moved into containers first.
 * Goods are transported directly on deck, not placed in a hold . The deck offers space for 200 pallets per layer, stacked up to at least 4 m high.
 * Smaller size barges resulting in lower operational costs and allowing access to smaller inland waterways.
 * Equipped with it’s own crane enabling independent loading and unloading, requiring little or no port infrastructure.
 * Equipped with Azimuth thruster propulsion and bow-thrusters using less power than trucks to transport the same quantities.
 * No living accommodation on board of the barge.
 * Operable by single crew.

History
The Pallet Shuttle Barge was invented by Antoon Van Coillie.The first one was built in 2014 and was commissioned by Blue Line Logistics nv.

Capacity
It has a carrying capacity of 300 T or 198 euro pallets.

Dimensions
Its standard dimensions are 50 m long and 6,6 m wide. It’s draft is up to 2,2 m when fully laden.

Fleet
Currently there are two Pallet Shuttle Barges. They carry the name ZULU. The PSB fleet will be expanded to 30 or 40 vessels.