Editing Zuid-Willemsvaart (section)

== Ships ==

=== The Meuse ship ===
In the mid-nineteenth century some calculations for shipping on the Meuse were given by the manager of the mines of [[John Cockerill (company, 1825–1955)|SA John Cockerill]]. He gave an example of shipping between Liège and Venlo over the Meuse. A Meuse ship {{lang|nl|Maasschip}} had an empty draught of 23&nbsp;cm, and had a cargo space of about 150-160 ton ([[tonnage]]). This meant that it could load about 100 wagonloads of coal. With 100 wagonloads of coal on board, the Meuse ship had a draught of 110–120&nbsp;cm. If the water was only three feet deep, the ship could only carry 75 wagonloads. With 20 inch (57.5&nbsp;cm) of water the ship could carry only 45 wagonloads. Therefore, a lower water level could raise the cargo price from 7.30 to 16.30 [[Belgian franc]]s per wagonload.{{sfn|Regout|1859|p=27}}

A wagonload of coal might be estimated at 800&nbsp;kg. One wagonload contained 10-12 muds of coal.{{sfn|Cachet|1882|p=336}} A mud of coal was 100 liter, weighing about 72&nbsp;kg, so 11*72~800. This also allows to compute the cargo capacity of the Meuse ship of the example at about 80,000&nbsp;kg, or 80 [[tonne]]s (100*800). The example ship is in line with the statement that ships on the Meuse measured 40-200 ton with a draught of 94–188&nbsp;cm, with the biggest rarely sailing further upstream than Venlo.{{sfn|Anonymous|1859|p=4}}

An example that shows the importance of transport cost for coal, dates from 1862. In Gent 1,000&nbsp;kg of Belgian coal then cost 24 francs including transport. Ruhr coal was cheaper at 20 francs. It was bought for 6 francs at the Ruhr, and transported to Gent via the Rhine, [[Dordrecht]] and the [[Ghent–Terneuzen Canal]] for 13-14 francs.{{sfn|De Bruyn Kops edit.|1862|p=404}}

=== The Zuid-Willemsvaart ship ===
The maximum size of ships that could navigate the Zuid-Willemsvaart was said to be bigger than that of a Meuse ship.{{sfn|Regout|1859|p=4}} For some time this was probably a general statement, indicating that in normal circumstances, ships of 188&nbsp;cm draught could use the canal, but could not sail the Meuse upwards of Venlo. However, it is reasonable to suppose that in time, shipping lines designed ships that could take maximum advantage of the canal.

In 1858 a statement about shipping on the canal said that two-thirds of the ships on the canal were smaller than 130-150 ton, and were drawn by one horse. One third was larger than 150 ton, and was mostly drawn by two horses. Finally, there were 5 or 6 ships of 300-400 ton, drawn by three horses.{{sfn|Anonymous|1859|p=36}} Perhaps the up to 150 ton ships were built to the old model, while the over 150 and over 300 ton ships had been built for use on the canal.

=== CEMT class II (Up to 2014) ===
Nothing much was done to modernize the canal after it had been constructed. Some changes were made to the locks, but their maximum passage width remained the same. In 1975 the canal was suitable for ships of [[Classification of European Inland Waterways|CEMT]] class II, but with a maximum draft of only 1.90&nbsp;m. This translated to ships with a cargo capacity of 600 tons, of which only 450 tons could be used due to the depth restrictions of the canal.{{sfn|Rijkswaterstaat|1975a|p=3}}

The size limits of the canal only became problematic after World War II. In 1960 the average cargo capacity of ships on the canal was 190 ton. By 1974 this average was 325 tons.{{sfn|Rijkswaterstaat|1975b|p=15}} Details at Sluis 0 showed that by this time vessels of up to 200 tons were becoming obsolete. From 1968 to 1975 their number at Sluis 0 decreased by two-thirds.{{sfn|Rijkswaterstaat|1975c}}

=== CEMT class II/IV (2014) ===
In 1982 the government decided to widen the Zuid-Willemsvaart up to NederWeert, and the connecting Wessem Nederweert Canal to [[Classification of European Inland Waterways|CEMT]] class IV.<ref name=LD27101982 /> Helmond Lock was opened in 1993, and Schijndel Lock was taken into use in 1995. Schijndel Lock has a lock chamber with useful dimensions of 110 * 12.50&nbsp;m. Normal depth at the lower gate is 3.80&nbsp;m.{{sfn|Van der Meer|Stoop|Wiggers|1996|p=3}} These first steps had little effect. Near the Meuse [[Engelen Lock]] limited the length of ships to 90&nbsp;m. In 's-Hertogenbosch [[Sluis 0]], still had the original passage width of only 6.8&nbsp;m, and a depth of 2.1&nbsp;m. For the moment, the advantage of these works was therefore limited to a substantial increase in allowed length, and a small increase in the allowed draft, of ships using the canal. The opening of the [[Máxima Canal]] in December 2014, actually allowed ships of CEMT class IV to use the canal up to Veghel.

In 2014 the situation south of Veghel was that Lock 4, 5 and 6 were suitable for CEMT class IV,{{sfn|Gramberg|Steenbakkers|2015|p=3}} but the canal itself was not. Now a different solution came up, which consisted of up to 110&nbsp;m long combinations. One was the [[pusher (boat)]] with two inline [[barge]]s before it. The other the {{lang|nl|koppelverband}} of two class II ships, which could transport 900 tons, instead of the previous 450 tons maximum. With only a few changes the canal up to the crossing with the Wilhelmina Canal was made suitable for these kind of ships. The same changes were applied westward to the Wilhelmina canal up to the Beatrix Canal, and to the Beatrix Canal itself.{{sfn|Gramberg|Steenbakkers|2015|p=3}}