The DST - at that time VBD - was founded in 1954, initially for the sole purpose of acting as a towing tank, and was extended by the transport economics and transport engineering departments in 1992.

Numerous national and international projects in these areas prove that this extension of the DST’s service range has amply satisfied the need for expert advice with regard to strengthening inland and coastal navigation transport systems.

The DST’s consulting services primarily focus on the efficiency of and the cost advantages associated with waterborne transportation. Answering such questions demands specialist technical and economic knowledge. Next to optimising vessels and the waterway infra-structure, efficient transhipment interfaces are needed. The entire transport chain needs to be taken into consideration when assessing competitiveness, i.e. the various modes of transport, transhipment procedures and (interim) storage requirements.

The contribution the DST can make within these fields therefore spans various levels and also covers among others the following key areas:

• market surveys to analyse the possibility of greater integration of inland and coastal navigation, including the elaboration of suitable transport concepts;
• development and economic assessment of technical solutions to increase the competitiveness of waterborne transport systems (vessel, transhipment, transport containers);
• consulting services/reports for transport policy makers, especially with regard to extending the waterway infra-structure with a view to both satisfying transport requirements as well as creating the preconditions for strengthening waterborne traffic;
• transport-safety and environmental-impact studies concerning different modes of transport (systems);
• fleet structure analyses with regard to fleet suitability and modification requirements for navigating existing waterways;
• port planning – infra- and supra-structure;
• port development concepts;
• management support and business planning for logistics service providers.

The special relation-specific studies carried out to ascertain the possibility of greater integration of inland navigation have included the different relations like for example: Duisburg-Portugal, Duisburg-Spain, Ukraine-Austria, Hamburg/Bremerhaven-Rhine/Ruhr district, Rotterdam/Antwerp-Strasbourg/Basel and Duisburg-Goole. At the same time, these studies also took consideration of the competitiveness of various technical innovations and of new transport concepts.

Various questions concerning the development potential of inland navigation as part of multi-modal transport concepts were dealt with in a series of DST projects. In addition to basic studies on development trends in container transport (containers/swap bodies), these projects also investigated concepts for using oversized vessels on the Rhine or for using smaller, but faster vessels to navigate tributaries and canals. Other examples refer to the elaboration of technical/economic concepts for swap body transportation on inland waterways.

Great importance is attached to safety and eco-political issues when providing consulting services for transport policy makers. Investigating the effects of transition regulations with regard to safety provisions as well as elaborating a concept for applying cost-benefit analyses for the enactment of safety provisions for the Ministry of Transport have numbered among the services provided by the DST in this vein. Among other things, an emission inventory was produced for inland navigation and rail transport as an eco-political decision-making aid.

You are welcome for a discussion without obligation and charge to find out, in which way we can help you with the solution of your problems. For the agreement of a date please contact Mr Holtmann (Tel. +49-203- 99369-55) or send us an e-mail.

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