The waterborne transport of wheeled cargo, including cars, trucks and trailers, driven directly onto and off a specialized ship over a ramp rather than lifted aboard by crane. Roll-on/roll-off shipping, often abbreviated RoRo, is used heavily to move new and used vehicles across oceans and to carry trucks and trailers on short sea crossings, since the wheeled cargo can be driven aboard and off again quickly without container handling equipment.
Facts
Partially Attested
Origin YearThe source dates the Granton to Burntisland railway wagon ferry, an early roll-on/roll-off service, to 1850; wheeled cargo ferries of other kinds may be earlier. Core ConcernMoving wheeled cargo on and off a ship over ramps instead of lifting it aboard 1 Connections
Exemplified By
Source Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off (Wikipedia)
Pioneered By
Source Wikipedia: Roll-on/Roll-off
Sources
1. Granton History: Train ferry
Page body, ferry operation summary
operated successfully from 1850 onwards
Page body, ramps and loading paragraph
there were ramps, which could themselves be moved, to connect the shore side to the vessels.
View the SourceWikipedia: Roll-on/Roll-off
WikipediaPioneered By: Thomas Bouch, Lead paragraph
who argued for a train ferry with a roll-on/roll-off mechanism to maximise the efficiency of the system
In Group: Bulk, Tanker and Container Shipping Modes, Lead paragraph
Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed specifically to transport wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers and railroad cars, which are moved directly onto and off the ship by their own wheels or on a platform vehicle such as a self-propelled modular transporter.
View the Source Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off (Wikipedia)
Exemplified By: Shughart-class vehicle cargo ship, Lead, roll-on/roll-off typeQuote, Exemplified By: Shughart-class vehicle cargo ship, Lead, roll-on/roll-off type
Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off (LMSR) refers to several classes of the United States' Military Sealift Command (MSC) roll-on/roll-off type cargo ships.
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