UNECE waterway classes
The inland waterway classification adopted in 1992 and carried into the AGN agreement, and what each class admits.
The UNECE waterway classes grade an inland waterway by the size of vessel or pushed convoy it can take. The classification was adopted by the European Conference of Ministers of Transport in 1992 and is carried into the European Agreement on Main Inland Waterways of International Importance. The class of a waterway is determined by the horizontal dimensions of the vessels or pushed units, especially their width.
Class V covers convoys of 11.40 m beam, Class VI covers convoys of 22.80 m beam across its a, b and c subdivisions, and Class VII, the highest, covers convoys of 33.00 to 34.20 m beam and 195 to 285 m length at 14,500 to 27,000 tonnes with a minimum bridge clearance of 9.10 m. The Danube downstream from Belgrade to the delta is Class VII.
The full article will cover the class table in full for motor vessels and pushed convoys, the bridge clearance tiers, how a class is assigned and revised, and the mapping of the main European waterways onto it.