455
1
INTRODUCTION
Novi Sad is the second largest city and one of the
largest economicandcultural centers of Serbia‐the
province of Vojvodina. Novi Sad was the European
remnantofculturefortheyear2022.
Vojvodinaʹs economy is based on rich, high‐
quality,arableland,whichmakesup84%of
itsarea.
Cereals make up the largest percentage of yields. A
certain part of the product is exported, but the
majority is processed in the domestic food industry
[9].TheportofʺNoviSadʺalsoplaysasignificantrole
inthecity’sandprovince’seconomyof.
Duetoitsgeographical
positionandthenumberof
territories through which it flows, the Danube
representsaveryimportantleverintheeconomiclife
ofSerbia[5].
Portsandwharvesaretheprimaryelementsofthe
systemthatenablethetransportationofrawmaterials
by rivers, seas and oceans. Connecting a network of
inland
waterways and land transportation, ports
represent crossroads in the transportation network,
directly influencing the growth and development of
the world economy. Effectively connecting other
modesoftransportwithwaterwaysisa prerequisite
forstimulationoftrafficoninlandwaterwaysandfor
transformation of the goods flow on inland
waterwaysinto
anintermodaltransportsystem[8].
TheportofʺNoviSadʺissituatedontheleftbank
oftheDanubeRiver,riverkm1254,attheentranceto
Optimization оf Port of “Novi Sad” for the Acceptance
of River-Sea Vessels
S.Soskic,M.Kresojevic,N.Slavkovic&B.Serif
UniversityofDefence,MilitaryAcademy,Belgrade,Serbia
ABSTRACT:Portsandwharvesareessentialpartsoftheinfrastructurethatenablethetransportofgoodson
inlandwaterways.Integratingthenetworkofinlandwaterwaysandlandmodesoftransport,theportsarethe
main hubs of the transportnetwork,theyencourageeconomicactivities
and enable the development of the
region.TheportofʺNoviSadʺislocatedontheleftbankoftheDanubeRiver,riverkm1254,andisopento
internationaltraffic.Thisisanexceptionallocationwherewatercorridor(VII)andPan‐EuropeanCorridorX
intersectandformahub
forinternationalcommunicationandtransport.NoviSadport’slocationstrengthisnot
onlyofageographicalnature,italsohasexcellenttransportlinksasitisonly0.3kmfromtherailwayjunction
ofCorridorXand3kmfromthelandCorridorX.ThedevelopmentoftheportofʺNovi
Sadʺwouldberelated
to the growth of it’s industry in the background. Considering the favorable geographical position and the
growingeconomicactivity,especiallyinthetradeexchangewiththecountriesthatareintheBlackSeabasin,
theport ofʺNoviSadʺ couldachievethestatusofariver‐
seaport in additiontoit’sinternationalstatus. In
accordancewiththeWaterTransportDevelopmentStrategyofRepublicofSerbia,theportofʺNoviSadʺcould
bedevelopedtotheextentthatitbecomescompetitiveonthemarketandprovidestransboatmentandstorage
servicesinaccordancetotheworldstandards.
http://www.transnav.eu
the International Journal
on Marine Navigation
and Safety of Sea Transportation
Volume 18
Number 2
June 2024
DOI:10.12716/1001.18.02.25
456
theDanube‐Tisa‐DanubeCanal.Likeotherports,the
developmentoftheportofʺNoviSadʺisrelatedtothe
growth of industry in its background, and with the
reduction of industrial activity, transboatment
capacitiesareusedmainlyforbulkcargo(cereals),for
fertilizers and it’s components, ferrous metallurgy
and
scrapmetal.
Considering the favorable geographical position
and the growing economic activity,especiallyinthe
tradeexchangewithcountriesthatareintheBlackSea
basin,theportofʺNoviSadʺcouldachievethestatus
of a river‐sea port in addition to the international
status.
2
HISTORYOFSEA‐RIVERTRAFFIC
Originsofthe Serbian riverandmaritime fleet were
initiatedintheseventiesofthe20thcenturywiththe
establishmentofthecompanyʺBeogradskaplovidba‐
Beoplovʺ,whichoriginallyhadtwo boats:ʺBratstvoʺ
andʺSlobodaʺ. Later, thiscompany enlargedits fleet
with the following boats:
ʺJugonavigatorʺ,ʺNovi
Beogradʺ,ʺSkadarlijaʺ,ʺCaptain Pavlovićʺ,
ʺJugoagentʺandothers.AspecialboatintheBeoplov
fleet, important for the economy of Serbia, was the
boatʺSmederevoʺ (figure 1), which was used to
transportironorefromPerutotheformerYugoslavia
for the needs of iron
factory in Smederevo city, but
also for other ironworks in the country. At the
beginning of the 21st century, this company
experienced a downturn, and the boats were
gradually scrapped or sold by creditors due to
financialproblems.In2007,theRepublicofSerbiawas
leftwithoutnavalboatsunder
itsflag,mostlydueto
theproblemofyearsofinternational isolation anda
failed attempt at privatization. of the company
ʺBeoplovʺ[8].
River‐sea traffic began with the boatʺKolubaraʺ,
which was the first river‐sea boat whose home port
was Belgrade. The boat was sailing on the
route
Belgrade‐Istanbul‐Alexandria. In addition to this
boat, two more boats of the same classʺMlavaʺ and
ʺTamnavaʺwereconstructed[8].
Figure1.BoatʺSmederevoʺ[12]
3 HYDRONAVIGATIONSAILINGCONDITIONS
ONTHENOVISAD–BELGRADERIVER
SECTOR
The navigation sector from Novi Sad to Belgrade is
partoftheDanubefree‐flowingsector.Thissectoris
characterized by a sandy and morphologically
dynamic riverbed, in contrast to the sector
downstream from Belgrade, which is considered a
basin‐type
waterway, and is characterized by
favorablenavigation conditionsthroughouttheyear.
InaccordancewiththeEuropeanAgreementonMain
Inland Waterways of International Importance
(AGN), the Serbian part of Danube meets the
requirementsofaninternationalwaterwayofclassVI
from Bezdan to Belgrade, and downstream from
Belgradeofclass
VII(figure2).
DownstreamfromtheportofNoviSad(riverkm
1254) there are four critical sectors,ʺArankina adaʺ
(river km 1247‐1244.8),ʺChortanovciʺ (river km
1241.6‐1235),ʺBeshkaʺ (river km 1232‐1226.6) and
ʺPrelivʺ (river km 1207‐1195). These critical sectors,
according to the representatives of theʺPlovputʺ
company,donotrepresentamajordangerorobstacle
to navigation, since the depth of the waterway is
maintained according to international standards
throughpreventivedredgingworks.Bylookingatthe
maps of the waterway, it can be found that the
minimum depth of the Danube in thissection is 3.8
meters,atalownavigablewaterlevel.
According to theʺAGNʺ agreement, the
recommendeddraftfortheDanubethroughR.Serbia
rangesfrom2.5to4.5meters.Accordingtothesame
agreement:ʺonwaterwayswithvariablewaterlevels,
thevalueoftherecommendeddraftmustcorrespond
toorexceedthe
draftprovidedonanaverageof240
daysper year(or60% ofthe navigation period)ʺ[2].
Also:ʺthemaximumdraft(4.50m)andtheminimum
height of the navigable opening under the bridges
(9.10m)shouldbeensuredonallpartsofthenetwork
directlyconnectedtothecoastalwaterways
ʺ,andthe
Danube is connected to the coastal waterway E‐90
(fromGibraltartothesouthalongthecoastsofSpain,
France,Italy,Greece,Turkey,Bulgaria,Romaniaand
Ukraine,alongthesoutherncoastofCrimeatoAzov,
alongtheDonRivertoRostov‐Kalach‐Volgograd‐
Astrakhan, as well as
inland waterways that are
accessibleonlyfromthisroute)[2].
Figure2. Classific ation of European Inland Waterways of
internationalimportance[2]
457
Table1.Basiccharacteristicsofsomeself‐propelledcargoboats[6]
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Nameofboat Ninst L a Ba Hk Tkm DmQr Construction
(kW) (m) (m) (m) (m) (t)(t) year
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
ʺBačkaʺ1x129 69,87 8,63 2,31 2,05 989,40 764,76 1970
ʺBezdanIʺ 2x106 69,74 8,62 2,82 2,15 1174,00 886,00 1979
ʺBеlgradeIʺ 1x184 63,05 8,61 2,21 2,05 903,00 708,74 1970
ʺBoljevacʺ 2x265 76,99 10,80 2,62 2,20 2840,00 1173,50 1980
ʺDetelinaraʺ 2x240 76,82 11,00 2,83 2,63 1891,25 1453,75
1980
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
4
CHARACTERISTICSOFDUALPURPOSESEA‐
RIVERBOATS
Inland navigation consist of canal and lake boats,
which are characterized by a flat bottom, low draft,
lowhullheight,limitedmaximumheight,weakerhull
constructionetc.
Rivercargoboats(figure3)aredividedinto:self‐
propelled cargo boats and non‐self‐propelled cargo
boats. Boats without propulsion are divided into:
towed freighters (barges) and pushers (thrusters).
Towed freighters are pulled by motor boatsʺtugsʺ,
while pusher boats are pushed by pushers. River
motorcargoboats(self‐propelledmotorcargo boats)
are a type of cargo boats intended for the
transportationofvarious
typesofcargo[6].Themain
purposeofriver‐seaboatsisnavigationoninlandand
coastal waterways. In order to sail in both
environments, these boats must meet the basic
characteristicsofboatsfornavigationontheriverand
boatsfornavigationonthesea(Figure4).
Figure3.Self‐propelledrivercargoboat
Figure4.Theappearanceofariver‐seaboat[10]
To sail the river, the boat must have good
maneuverability (to avoid shoals, overcome river
bends, enter locks, etc.), a small draft and a low
superstructure(duetounderbridgepassing).
As forseanavigation conditions,theboat should
possess maritime capabilities for maneuverability
duringhighwaves.Thus,accordingtothe
heightof
the waves they can safely overcome, boats are
classifiedintotwogroups[7]:
forwavesupto3.5minheightandforsailingata
distancefromthecoastupto50nauticalmiles,and
for waves up to 6m in height and sailing at a
distanceof50nauticalmilesfromthecoastinopen
seasor100nauticalmilesfromthecoastinclosed
seas.
Table2.Basiccharacteristicsofriver‐seaboats[7]
________________________________________________
Typeofboats projected modelof modelof
boatmodel tankerboat comboboat
________________________________________________
Length(m)114,20 132,60 119,90
Largestbetween 110,50 128,60 115,20
lpp(m)
MaximumDraft(m) 3,50 3,65 3,50
Width(m)13,22 16,90 13,40
Heightofthehull(m) 5,50 5,50 5,80
Registered2700 4875 2700
Capacity(t)
Storagecapacity(m
3
)4300 6740 3556‐fuel
1895‐drycargo
BoatSpeedin 10,60 11,00 10,90
deepwater(kn)
________________________________________________
5 ACCOMMODATIONOFSEA‐RIVERBOATSIN
NOVISADPORT
5.1
Ports
Port is defined as a specific water area with man‐
designedandnaturalshoresandland,togetherwith
devices, facilities and other objects intended for
berthing, anchoring, boarding and embarkation,
transshipment, storage and goods production
finishingprocesses.Inabroadersense,aportisaset
of facilities and arrangements
designated for
transshipment of cargo and transfer of passengers
fromlandtoshipandviceversa.
Ports can be classified based on different
characteristics(Figure5).Theyaremostoftendivided
accordingtothetypeofwaterwayonwhichtheyare
located, then according to placement on the
waterway,according
tonameandaccordingtotraffic.
Accordingtothetypeofwaterwayonwhichthey
arebuilt,portscanbedividedintoriverports,canal
ports, ports on canalized rivers and river‐sea ports.
The essential differences between these ports are
relatedtotheoscillationsofthewaterlevel[6].
458
Water level oscillations in the river ports are
seasonal and depend on the hydrological regime of
the river. Due to the insufficient width of the
waterway, harbors on canals are built into the coast
and,unlikethoseonrivers,arenotexposedtointense
oscillations in the water level. The
water level in
canalized rivers, apart from natural conditions,
depends,onexample,fromthemodeofoperationof
the power plant and other users‐which must be
adaptedtotheneedsofnavigation.Thewaterlevelin
river‐seaports,inadditiontothehydrologicalregime
oftheriver,is
influencedbythetidesandebbsofsea
water.Accordingtotheplacementonthewaterway,
portscanbe:ontheopencoast,basinandcombined
[6].
Ports ontheopencoastarebuilt in placeswhere
the river has sufficient width for the normal
transshipment of vessels, as well as
the necessary
widthofthewaterwayforthemovementoftraffic.In
relation to other dimensions, the most commonly
expressed dimensions are arc lengths. Places for
harborscanberectilinear,tofollowthenaturalcoast,
ortobeformedstepped.Portsontheopencoastare
not protected from passing
ships, which is why
sailingspeedsarelimitedintheportarea.Thistypeof
portismostlynotprotectedfromwindandwaves.As
a rule, they are usually located on concave shores,
giventhatthenavigabledepthsaregreateralongthe
concave shore and that the water along the
concave
shore carries river sediment and ice more easily.
These ports provide optimal conditions for
maneuveringshipsandvessels[6].
Basinharborsarelocated inspeciallyconstructed
basins, natural depressions or dammed river
backwaters.Theyareprotectedagainsttheflowofthe
river (ice, waves, wind...), but the maneuver of
enteringandleavingshipsandvesselsismuchmore
complexandlonger.Combinedportsarebuiltpartly
ontheopencoastandpartlyinthebasinforwhichall
facilities from one and the other environment were
used.
Figure5.SchemeofPortclassification[6]
5.2 PortofNoviSad
Port of Novi Sad has a significant role in the port
sectoroftheRepublicofSerbiawithitsposition,built
infrastructure and existing port superstructure. This
role was recognized in Regulation 1315/2013/EU, on
thebasisofwhich,withintheʺStudyoftheEuropean
Commission on the
TEN‐T basic corridor Rhine‐
Danubeʺ,itwasclassifiedintheso‐calledInlandCore
Ports.Theportislocatedonthe1,254kmontheleft
bankoftheDanubeRiver,attheentrancetotheDTD
channel.Thewaterareaoftheportis6hectaresin
size
wherethewaterdepthis4to10metres..A800‐metre‐
long pier can accommodate up to five vessels at a
time. The 6,000 m long industrial railway track is
connectedtothenationalrailwaynetwork[8].
Handlingandstorageofbulkcargo,generalcargo,
containersandliquidcargo
iscarriedoutintheport
(figure 6).ʺTransshipment machinery of this port
consistsofsixportal craneswitha capacityof5tto
27.5t,14forkliftswithacapacityof3tto12.5t,one
forklift with a capacity of 28 t, 5 loaders, two truck
scales,oneofwhichisaroad‐railwayscalesupto100
t, three telescopic hoppers with portals for
transshipment of bulk cargo with a production
capacityofupto250t/h,twodevicesforpackingbags
of 50 kg and bags of 1,000 kg, belt conveyor,
pneumaticequipment,pumpsfor
oilderivatives,etc.
The Port of Novi Sad has 44,000 square meters of
closedwarehousesand100,000squaremetersofopen
warehouses in the function of public and public
customs warehouses. The storage volume for oil
derivativesis270,000m
3
ʺ[11].
Total traffic in 2021 was 1,435,879 tons, while in
2020morethan1,631,000tonsofvariousgoodswere
handled. The most frequently processed goods are
grains, scrap iron, artificial fertilizer, ferrous
metallurgy,etc.Thedevelopmentplansoftheportin
Novi Sad are based on the increase in the
transshipment of the mentioned goods and raw
materialsandincludetheextensionoftheoperational
waterfront‐vertical quay, the reconstruction of the
existing cranes and the acquisition of new
transshipment machinery with the intention of
increasingthecarryingcapacity,themodernizationof
the information system and the development of
automatic data
processing.ʺIt is necessary to
approach the reconstruction of industrial tracks and
theroadnetwork,theconstructionofgraintankwith
aholdingcapacityof20,000tons,theconstructionofa
Ro‐Ro terminal, a container terminal, a Hucke pack
terminal,theexpansionofstoragecapacities,aswell
as the
development of logistics subsystems and
additional services. The estimated value of the
investment in the port infrastructure is 4.9 million
euros, while the investment for the port
superstructureisestimatedat9.8millioneurosʺ[8].
In the following period, investments are planned
in[4]:
increasingportcapacities,
construction and modernization of storage
systems,
development of additional logistics services and
logisticssupport,
portinfrastructure,
reconstructionofexistingstorageareas,
adaptationofthepassengerterminal.
Infirstsixmonthsof2022thetransshipmentof223
containers was recorded in the Serbian ports, which
shows the increase in demand for this type of
transportation by waterways. Also, in the same
period, 7.2 milliontons of transhipped cargo on the
rivers was recorded,
i.e. 7% less than in the same
459
period in 2021. The drop in cargo handling was
directlyinfluencedbythesituationinUkraineandthe
ban on the export of grain. Gravel, sand and stone
aggregatesarethemostfrequentlytransshippedtype
ofcargo,followedbyoilandoilderivatives,aswellas
oresandcoal
[13].
Figure6.PortofʺNoviSadʺ[11]
Figure7showsacomparativeanalysisofthetype
ofwatertrafficinSerbiaforaperiodof5years.What
is noticeable is that there is a noticeable increase in
transport traffic, but also a noticeable drop in
passengertraffic,mostlyduetotheCOVID‐19virus.
Figure7.Comparativeanalysisofwatertraffic[1]
Figure 8 shows a comparative view of cargo
transhippedinportsinSerbiaduring2020and2021.It
can be observed that the largest transshipment was
realized in the Port of Smederevo, which is logical
because the Smederevo iron factory is located there.
TheportofNoviSadisinthe
thirdplaceintermsof
numberofcargotransshipped,rightaftertheportof
Pancevo.Figure9showsanoverviewoftheamount
oftransshippedcargofromthebeginningtotheend
of2021.
Figure8. Comparative overview of cargo handled in port
areas[1]
Figure9.Overviewofthequantityoftranshandledcargo[1]
6 CONCLUSION
Goods transported by inland waterways mainly
involve products that are transported in large
quantities(agriculturalproducts,coal,crudeoil,metal
ores,stone,food products, beverages,tobacco,wood
andwoodandcorkproducts,etc.).
Thisdoesnotmeanthatconsumerproductscannot
be transported by waterways. In order to create the
conditionsforthetransportofsuchgoods,theremust
beasufficientamountofconsumergoodsthatcanbe
divertedtowatertransport(containertransport).
Maritime shipping has an important place in the
economyofeverycountry,includingcontinentalones,
primarilybecauseofitsforeignexchangeprofitability.
Maritimecompaniesdo
mostoftheirbusinessonthe
worldmaritimemarket,whichachievestheso‐called
invisible export that significantly contributes to the
reduction of the foreign trade balance deficit. Based
onthis,thestates establishfavorablelegal andfiscal
frameworks for the business of shipowners, because
inthiswaytheycancount
onmorefavorablefreight
ratesandthustheplacementofdomesticproductson
foreignmarketsundermorefavorableconditions.
Itwaspreciselythepositiveeffectsontheoverall
economic development of a country that led to the
fact that countries without a sea coast (hereinafter:
landlockedcountries)begantotake
measuresinorder
to be included in this global industry. This is in an
efforttoensureunhinderedconditionsforthesupply
ofitsmarket,andtheplacingofitsnationalproducts
on distant markets. The Swiss Confederation, at the
peace conference in Paris in 1919, demanded that
landlocked countries be
granted the right to free
transitthroughtheterritoriesofneighboringcountries
thathaveaccesstothesea.
Theveryfactthatgoodsare brought bywaterto
the center of the continent, to the intersection with
road and rail corridor X, to a port equipped and
capable of fast
transshipment of multimodal
transport, would attract foreign shipping and
maritimecompanies.
Also, the construction of the Belgrade‐Budapest
railroad can have a positive impact on the
development of the port, from where it can be
connected to corridor V (Bratislava‐Žilina‐Košice‐
Uzhorod‐Lviv),andfurthertocorridorIII(Kiev).The
460
planned construction of the Novi Sad‐Ruma
highway would have a positive impact, which
improvestheconnectionwiththeWesternbranchof
CorridorXandfacilitatestheexploitationoftheSrem
andMačvaareas.
Consideringthefulfillmentofallbasicnavigation
conditionsontheDanubeRiverfromtheBlack
Seato
NoviSadandthepossibilityofservingriver‐seaships
in the port ofʺNovi Sadʺ, it is considered that the
affirmation of this type of transport would greatly
contribute to the development of the countryʹs
economy.
REFERENCES
[1]Analysis of Freight and Passenger Traffic in Ports and
Seaportsin2021,PortGovernanceAgency,Serbia,2022
[2]European Agreement on Main Inland Waterways of
InternationalImportance (AGN),InlandTransportation
Committee of the Economic Commission for Europe,
1996
[3]Network Statement,ʺInfrastructure of the Railways of
Serbiaʺa.d.,2017
[4]
Petronijević, B., Logistics & Transport, vol. 15, no. 87,
2020.
[5]Popa,A.&Petrisor,A.:Theroleofportsindeveloping
Danube cities: perspectives and future possibilities.
Present Environment and Sustainable Development. 2.
113‐126.doi:10.47743/pesd2022162009,2022
[6]Rosić S.: Navigation on inland waterways, Odbrana
MediaCenter,2010
[7]ŠoškićS.,ĐekićZ.,KresojevićM.:AnalysisofRiver‐Sea
TransportintheDirectionoftheDanube‐BlackSeaand
the Danube Rhine River River Main. TransNav, the
International Journal on Marine Navigation and Safety
of Sea Transportation, Vol. 8, No. 4,
doi:10.12716/1001.08.04.06,pp.523‐531,2014
[8]Watertransport
developmentstrategyoftheRepublicof
Serbia from 2015 to 2025,ʺOfficial Gazette of RSʺ,
number3of14,2014.
[9]https://ilijavitosevic.wordpress.com/privreda/
[10]https://boattradehouse.com/enquiry/
[11]https://www.dpworld.com/sr/novi‐sad/about‐us/who‐
we‐are
[12](https://www.cdm.me/drustvo/dzinovski‐teretnjak‐
najveci‐brod‐koji‐je‐ikada‐uplovio‐u‐luku‐bar/)
[13]https://plutonlogistics.com/vodni‐transport/recni‐
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