Ex. 7. Agree or disagree with the following statements. Give grounds to your answer.

1. Belarus has a large network of navigable river and sea routes. 2. The Water Transport enterprises not only provide design, building and repair of vessels and cargo transportation but also produce wide range of products. 3. Passenger water carriage is affected in the regional centres of the Republic. 4. There are ten river ports of the Republic of Belarus. 5. The number of waterway enterprises and shipbuilding and repair plants in the Republic is the same. 6. The control over technical conditions of vessels, certification of items used in shipbuilding, fulfilling shipping rules in water ways, and ensuring safe navigable conditions is fulfilled by the “Belarusian Transport forwarding and Chartering Company”. 7. Being an inland state, Belarus looks forward to create its own sea trade fleet. 8. As for the development of the sea fleet, Belarus is considering merchants projects only.

Ex. 8. Answer the following questions.

1. What are the main navigation routes in Belarus? 2. What are the aims and tasks of Water Transport enterprises? 3. Is there a special Ministry for Sea and River Transport in our republic? 4. What does the river fleet of Belarus today include? 5. What is the capacity of Belarusian river ports? 6. What port facilities are provided for Belarusian ports? 7. What facilities and equipment must waterway enterprises be provided? 8. What organizations control the different aspects of water transport operation in Belarus? 9. What advantages are there in creating Belarusian national sea fleet? 10. What efforts for developing Belarusian sea shipping are underway? 11. What is included in the government's Program of Inland and Sea Water Transport Development?

Ex. 9. Translate into English.

1. Наша страна обладает обширной сетью речных судоходных путей, связывающих ее с соседними государствами. 2. Предприятия водного транспорта обеспечивают проектирование, строительство и ремонт речных судов, также как и грузовые перевозки по рекам нашей республики. 3. Предприятия отрасли производят широкий спектр продукции, полностью отвечающей требованиям водного транспорта республики. 4. Эти меры обеспечивают активное взаимодействие различных типов транспорта для эффективной работы предприятий данной отрасли. 5. Плавучие и портовые краны с высокой производительностью работы предназначены для быстрой загрузки и разгрузки кораблей. 6. Подведенные железнодорожные пути могут использоваться для транспортировки товаров из порта в различных направлениях по всей республике. 7. Водные предприятия должны иметь необходимое оборудование для углубления русла и земляных работ, чтобы поддерживать требуемую глубину на судоходных реках. 8. Производственные мощности этой верфи позволяют строить корабли практически любого класса. 9. Данный проект все еще находится в стадии разработки. 10. Программа предусматривает покупку нескольких торговых судов, водоизмещением до 25 тысяч тонн каждое.

Ex. 10. Define the main topic and idea of the text, split it into the logical parts, and make up the plan of the text.

Ex. 11. Abstract the text.

Ex. 12. Skim the text B.

TEXT 7B

PINSK SHIPYARD

In the second half of the XIXth century after the abolition of the serfage the Russian Empire experienced great industrial growth. The development of transport was paid the greatest attention. Pinsk, being a significant trading centre, became a trans-shipment point of the Oginskaya and Dnieper-Bugskaya water systems.

In the 1880s industrial revolution reached thesphere of water transport. The growing industry needed more steamships to meet new requirements. In 1885 the shipbuilding and mechanical yard appeared in Pinsk, with Julia P. O’Brien de Lassie being its owner. But there wasn’t stability in incoming orders and the number of workers wasn’t constant either. The most favourable was the year of 1902 when the plant put out products on Pic. 37. Pinsk Trademark 210,000 roubles with the total staff of 290

workers. But in 1913 the figures were 13,000 and 50 correspondingly.

During WWI the plant property was ransacked and only after the reunion of Belarus in 1939 when the newly established “Western Steamship Company” increased the water

Pic. 38. Pinsk Shipyard

transportation in the area, the ship repair plant was made in Pinsk on basis of the former private shops.

During the WWII the enterprise was considerably damaged but was restored already in 1944-45 and soon got a status of a shipbuilding plant. In post-war years the shipyard became a significant enterprise with more than 500 workers. The range of products included cargo and service motorships, tugs, and pushers. In the 1970s-80s Pinsk shipyard launched up to 12 vessels a year. Since 1992 the demand for shipbuilding production has considerably decreased and the plant has to master new spheres of manufacturing.

Today Pinsk shipyard is a modern industrial enterprise working for the needs of the branch. The total staff is about 160 specialists. There are five main and auxiliary sectors with up-to-date technological equipment. The shipyard work is done in the following directions.

1) production and repair of pushing tugs with capacity of 300 and 500 h. p., pontoons and metalware (hull and welding sectors);

2) overhaul of internal combustion engines (diesel sector);

3) metalware of different purpose, mechanisms and spares, plastic and rubber products (mechanical sector);

4) joinery (woodworking sector).

In 2003 after a long break Pinsk shipyard launched the “O”-class tug motorship of a new series.

Ex. 13. Answer the questions.

1. What was the reason that the Russian Empire experienced great industrial growth in the second half of the XIXth century? 2. What date can be considered the birthday of Pinsk shipyard? 3. Why did the shipbuilding and mechanical yard appear in Pinsk? 4. Who was the founder of Pinsk shipyard? 5. Was there stability in work of the shipyard on the early stage? 6. Why was the shipyard reopened only in 1939? 7. Prove that in the Soviet period Pinsk shipyard became a significant enterprise in its branch of the economy. 8. What is Pinsk shipyard nowadays? 9. What are the main directins of the shipyard work now? 10. Can we say that the shipyard has restored its position by the 21^st ctntury? Give your reasons.

Ex. 14. Speak on.

a) the history of the creation and early development of the enterprise;

b) Pinsk Shipyard in the post-war period.

c) the main directions of work at present.

Ex. 15. Abstract the text in brief (7-8 sentences).

Ex. 16. Read and translate the text.

TEXT 7C

BELARUSIAN SEA PORT

Though Belarus has no direct access to the sea, the creation of the national fleet is vital and economically efficient for our cargo transportation. At first, it is being planned to provide the Belarusian fleet with two merchant vessels, either 25 tons of dead-weight tonnage each or 30 tons and 6 tons for the “river-and-sea” type instead. The second variant is more preferable, because (1) it’s the most optimum scheme according to the specificity of the existing Belarusian export; (2) we must consider the technical scope of shipment and destination ports of our trade partners (the Brazil, Malaysia, India, etc.), which are not designed for large-capacity vessels. So, ships with dead weight of 30 tons are optimal.

Another question is where the port of these vessels’ registration will be. Many countries are ready to render their facilities. Negotiations are carried on with the Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Russia.

As Belarus belongs to the Baltic region there are two most acceptable variants to be considered. Klaipeda or Kaliningrad. Both have certain advantages.

As for Klaipeda, one can observe the growing tendency of Belorusian cargo flows. According to the data of 2000 the annual turnover exceeded 3 million tons and in 2003 it was almost 5 million tons, which makes almost 25% of the total turnover of the port. In 2004-2005 Belarus enhanced the volume of cargo, transported via Klaipeda seaport to 6,7 m tons. (To the point.at the same time Russian cargo makes less and less part of the total amount. Russian cargo made almost half of the total turnover of the port in 1999 but in 2002 the volume of Russian cargo decreased by 10%.)

Representative offices of some Belarusian forwarders are working successfully in Klaipeda port as well as some Lithuanian companies are working in Belarus. The main export cargoes of the republic are oil products from Novolipetsk and Mozir refineries, which make almost half of the total quantity of export, mineral fertilizers from Soligorsk and steel products from metallurgic factory in Zlobin. Molasses and food products make the greater part of overseas import.

Though the share of Belarusian cargo permanently grows, their quantities are not big even if the most modern container and multi-modal transportation technologies are used. Lithuania is interested in attracting more road carriers to Lithuanian ferry lines. There are not so many timber products and ready-made products in the port.

In spite of the fact that Belarus is the member of CIS and has declared about the union with Russia, the Lithuanian side plans and forms its relationships with Belarus and Russia separately. The Klaipeda variant will surely help our republic to form modern marketing system and make better conditions for closer cooperation of businessmen and transport people of both our countries and consequently the whole Baltic region. Besides, geographically Klaipeda Seaport is the nearest to Belarus - only 415 kilometers from the border. And the fact that this port is a non-freezing one is of no less importance.

So, maybe Klaipeda will become the seaport of two states – Lithuania and Belarus.

Pic. 39. Probable sea-ports for Belarus

The other variant to be thought more preferable by many is Kaliningrad. It has traditionally been a city that is very close to Belarus. It is not just a neighbour that is only a stone’s throw away, as the saying goes. More than 100,000 Belarusians live there. They are the second-largest national group after the Russians. The Belarusians are actively involved in the region’s economic and social life and hold many key positions. The economic links of whole economic sectors of Belarus and the Kaliningrad Region have remained intact since Soviet times. Belarus supplies 75-80 percent of the timber for the paper and pulp plants of the Kaliningrad Region. In return, we get pulp, the basic raw material for our paper industry. We have also been and remain the key suppliers of materials for walls (bricks, cement, concrete) for construction in the region. Furthermore, Belarusian contractors do a fair amount of the construction.

There is interaction between Belarus and the region also due to the magnetism of the Baltic Sea. In Belarus there have always been many people who wanted to link their life to that sea by serving in the merchant or fishing fleet. Moreover, it is vital to us that the Kaliningrad Region has a well-developed transportation infrastructure and access to the Baltic Sea so that we can quickly and effectively export our goods. If it wasn’t necessary to get Polish and Lithuanian visas when using ground transport, then we would have no problems at all with citizens traveling within the Union state.

Both Belarus and Russia benefit from our presence in Kaliningrad, that’s why this presence will grow. The authorities of the city has already suggested to Belarus to build its own port in the town of Zelenogradsk, Kaliningrad region, on basis of the former naval harbour.

In conclusion it should be noted that there can be the third variant being supported by the Ministry for Transport of Belarus. It is the cooperation project (so-called “2K-project”) of both Klaipeda and Kaliningrad ports.

Ex. 17. Answer the questions.

1. What are the two variants planned to provide Belarusian merchant fleet with sea-going vessels? 2. What is the second important question of this plan and what may the probable solution be here? 3. What are the most acceptable variants of future Belarusian port? 4. What are the main export cargoes of the republic through Klaipeda port? 5. Enlist the possible advantages of the “Klaipeda variant”. 6. Prove that there exists close interaction between Belarus and Kaliningrad region. 7. Can we say that economic links between Belarus and Kaliningrad are histerically strong? Give your reasons. 8. Where can be the most probable position of the Belarusian sea-port? 9. Are there other variants of Belarusian sea-port considered? 10. Explain the origin of the term “2K-project”.

Ex. 18. Explain why.

a) the creation of the national fleet is vital and economically efficient for our cargo transportation;

b) the second variant of sea-going vessels’ provision is more preferable;

c) the cooperation with Belarus can become more preferable for Klaipeda than even with Russia;

d) the Belarusians are actively involved in the Kaliningrad region’s economic and social life and hold many key positions;

e) both Belarus and Russia will benefit from our presence in Kaliningrad;

f) the Kaliningrad authorities has suggested to Belarus to build its future port in the town of Zelenograd, Kaliningrad region.

Ex. 19. Develop the idea.

1) Though Belarus has no direct access to the sea, it is being planned to provide the Belarusian fleet with two merchant sea-going vessels;

2) Klaipeda may become the seaport of two states – Lithuania and Belarus;

3) The Kaliningrad variant is thought by many to be more preferable.

Ex. 20. Make up a short summary of the text.

Ex. 21. Speak on the topic “Shipbuilding in Belarus”

UNIT VIII