Influence of Shipbuilding Industry on the Efficiency of Inland Navigation System

The transport of goods on inland waterways depends significantly on the efficiency of the supporting subsystems. The subsystem of technical support is one of the systems which directly affect the efficiency of the technical means on inland waterways (vessels, cargo handling machinery, navigation time on inland waterways). The condition and branching of the technical infrastructure network affects also the possibility of implementing the more demanding transport technologies on inland waterways, as for instance the container transport, Ro-Ro transport, etc., thus including this transport mode into intermodal transport chains, making it more competitive to other traffic branches (road and rail traffic) and realising additional possibilities of revenues. The work analyses the functional relations within the river navigation system with special consideration of the role of the technical infrastructure within the system. Based on the performed analysis of the relations within the system and the obtained data on the condition of technical infrastructure in the region of the Republic of Croatia, it is possible to evaluate the level and structure of technical infrastructure development in the future.