CA3114703A1 - Inclement weather ship loading system for bulk materials - Google Patents

Abstract

A ship loading system suitable for loading bulk materials efficiently into a broad range of bulk carriers including during inclement weather.
The system incorporates a novel shiploader and tripper located within a specially designed building.
Said building may be supported on marine piles or preferably on floating pontoons. The building may be assembled in modules off-site, with one or more of the modules capable of being moved to site with the shiploader system pre-commissioned.

Description

Inclement weather ship loading system for bulk materials Background Bulk products, such as coal, ore, concentrates and agricultural products, are often loaded in ocean-going vessels known as bulk carriers. These vessels vary in size of cargo they can transport, typically ranging from ¨20,000 tonnes to ¨250,000 tonnes. Smaller vessels often have ship's gear, or cranes, to assist in offloading the product at the destination port, and typically have folding hatch covers. The larger vessels, typically above 60,000 dead weight tonnes (DWT), are wider and longer, may have greater drafts, and often have sliding hatch covers and no ship's gear.
Some products, such as grain, cement, and fertilizer, cannot be loaded during inclement weather such as heavy downpours of rain, snow, or hail. Most bulk carrier vessels cannot be loaded during high wind for three main reasons ¨ large ocean swells, environmental containment of dust and, most importantly, shiploader design limitations related to maximum wind-speed for allowable operation. Most international shiploader design standards set the maximum operating wind-speed at approximately 20 m/s, though a lesser wind-speed is typically set for inclement weather-type shiploaders because of the large wind areas associated with the weather covers, or tents, as they are sometimes called.
The ability to load a vessel during inclement weather is of significant benefit, particularly when moisture, in the form of rain, snow, hail or ice, may compromise the product.
In this case the enhanced ability allows for greater utilization of the port facility, with potential for significant cost savings, and improved reliability.
Numerous unsuccessful attempts have been made in the past to design shiploaders that can load in such conditions. This invention addresses those well-known issues.
Successful recent developments in Europe have used large offshore buildings to trans-ship items such as paper and containers. In these facilities, ocean-going vessels enter the building and are then loaded or unloaded using conventional harbour cranes or overhead travelling cranes.
In Canada, agricultural bulk products such as grain, wheat, and fertilizers are regularly loaded into bulk vessels in ports off the East and West Coasts where wind-blown rain is a significant problem. This invention addresses that problem in a safe, minimally intrusive, environmentally friendly and economical manner.
Typical all weather shiploaders are shown, for example, in the following patent and patent applications:
Brazilian Patent BRMU8802927U2 Marchiorato US Patent U5005778815A Shields Canadian Patent Application CA 2699009 McLachlan Canadian Patent Application CA 2799118 ' Sorensen Japanese Patent Application JP2017052418A Okabe International Patent Application WO 2014/140302 Al Pletz US Patent U5005154561A Lee Date Recue/Date Received 2020-06-09 Despite a need for an inclement bulk shiploader, none of the present systems have been extensively used, and improvements are therefore needed.
Description Referring to Figure 1, a building, 1, supports a novel shiploading system that consists of the following components: a cantilevered feed conveyor, 2, running parallel to the vessel being loaded; a longitudinally travelling bridge, 3; and longitudinally travelling conveyor tripper, 4. The tripper optionally has a towing arm, 19, that synchronizes it's movement to that of a specialized overhead travelling crane, 5. The crane supports a laterally movable trolley, 6, which in turn supports the bulk product loading boom, 15.
The loading boom, 15, receives bulk product from the receiving conveyor tripper, 4. The boom is supported on pivots near the medial location by the bridge, 3.
The boom supports the product loading spout, 8. The position of the spout is variable, and its traverse range is made sufficient to cover the required hatch width of the design range of vessels. When the spout is moved to the end of its range at the distal end of the boom, and the boom is pivoted upwards, the spout is moved to position 8A. In this position the spout can be maintained, using maintenance facilities, 10, safely accessible within the roof upper structure. Optionally, also located on the crane bridge structure is one or more spout trolleys, 9.
The maintenance facilities, 10, optionally include one or more service hoists capable of lowering items to barge or other transfer vehicle.
The building may be supported on piles and pile-caps, but in the preferred embodiment is supported on pontoon floats, 11A and 11B. Said building, 1, may be constructed as one complete floating pontoon, the full length of the building, but in the preferred embodiment would be built in a number of stable modules that can be towed to the site for anchoring. The port float, item 11A, is competently connected to the starboard float, item 11B, with sufficient strength to accept all loads, including inter-alia berthing, wind, wave, swell, and ocean current loads.
Energy absorbing fender systems, items 12A and 12B, are appropriately spaced down the length of the pontoons. In the preferred embodiment, fender systems have a low friction covering. The distance between fenders 12A and 12B inside faces depends on location-specific requirements, though in the preferred embodiment is equal to or greater than the width of the New Panama Canal, i.e. ¨55 m fender face to fender face.
Critically, fender 12B is located sufficiently far from starboard pontoon 11B
to protect the vessel from contacting the parked shiploader boom, 15.
Tugboats, 16, can assist mooring where necessary. Alternatively, mechanical means such as mooring winches may be employed to assist mooring. Bollards, optionally with quick-release hooks, allow the vessel to be securely tied to the pontoons during loading.
A key requirement is that the building is made sufficiently high and wide to allow the full range of design vessels to be safely serviced, as shown in Figure 2, where, in this case, the limiting clearance, 20, is the gap between the boom, 15, and the flying bridge on the vessel, 14.
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-06-09 Figure 3 shows the loading boom lowered on its pivots, 29 on Figure 8, to a nearly horizontal working position on a light vessel. Dependent on vessel size and ballasted condition, the starting position may be with the boom at any angle from slightly raised to slightly lowered. The pivotable operating angle will depend on the bulk material being loaded, typically, though not necessarily, between about -16 degrees and + 16 degrees. The transverse and longitudinal position of the spout, 8, is achieved by a combination of longitudinal travel and horizontal traverse. The inclination of the boom allows the operating length of the spout to be minimized. This is critical for loading certain bulk materials such as potassium chloride (muriate of potash, or simply potash) where dust generation and product degradation are both important considerations. This requirement is well understood by those skilled in the art of handling potash.
Figure 4 shows the loading boom lowered on its pivots to allow an almost fully loaded vessel to be loaded with minimal material drop height.
Figure 5 shows a geared vessel, 17, berthed port side, with the ship's gears facing starboard side.
Figure 6 shows a geared vessel berthed port side, at the required standoff, 18, to allow the ship's gear, 19, to face port side.
Dust control and/or soft-loading telescopic spouts are used in the preferred embodiment, for example the Cleveland Cascade Spout TM, 8, with or without rotating trimmer.
Figure 7 shows the general arrangement of the overall loading system. In this arrangement both ends of the building remain open. In alternative arrangements, one or both ends of the building may be fully or partially closed using tension supported "curtains".
The embodiments of the invention which are disclosed, but in which NO
exclusive property or privilege is claimed.
1. Building with translucent sheeting to enhance marine environment.

2. Building with suspended submerged ropes outside of the navigation channel to enhance marine environment.

3. Overhead travelling crane.

4. Telescoping cascade spout.

5. Endless conveyor moveable head on shiploader boom.

6. Telescoping boom section, where appropriate.
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-06-09

Claims (27)

Inclement weather ship loading system for bulk materials The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. Referring to Figures 1 through 8, a novel ship loading system for loading bulk products, consisting of a shiploader, items 2 through 8 as well as 15, configured for mounting inside a building, 1.

2. A shiploader suitable for being efficiently installed inside of a building.

3. A shiploader for loading bulk materials such as grain, fertilizers and cement that permits loading to continue during inclement weather by virtue of being totally contained within a building.

4. Referring to Figure 8, a shiploader, whose boom, 15, is not entirely supported by the bridge, 3, but which instead uses a combination of devices, or a separate device such as an overhead travelling crane, 7, to support the boom near the distal end.

5. Referring to Figure 1, a shiploader that advantageously receives material from an endless conveyor system that is supported from a cantilevered structure, 2, that runs parallel to the bridge travel direction.

6. Referring to Figure 8, a shiploader where the relative motions of the various components may be actively, or in the preferred embodiment, passively controlled.

7. Referring to Figure 8, a shiploader where the relative motions of crane trolley, 6, may be electrically synchronized with the boom distal suspension point/s.

8. Referring to Figure 8, a shiploader where the relative motions of trolley, 6, may advantageously be passively controlled by the orientation of the suspending means, 21.

9. Referring to Figure 8, a shiploader where the separate suspension system, 7, is electrically synchronized with the bridge, 3, and/or tripper, 4.

10. Referring to Figure 8, a shiploader where, advantageously, the separate suspension system, 7, is passively synchronized with the bridge, 3, and/or tripper, 4 via a towing arm 23, or via the suspension system, 21.

11. Referring to Figure 8, a tripper, 4, where the support system, 27, may advantageously be supported at a different elevation, or various elevations relative to the bridge travel system, 26.

12. Referring to Figure 1, a shiploader with one or plurality of auxiliary device/s for storing various chutes.

13. A building item 1, capable of safely supporting said bulk shiploader, including during inclement conditions such as wind, snow, ice, and rain, including loading associated with this weather. The building is fully capable of supporting site-specific snow, ice and storm-wind loads.

14. A floating building, item 1, supported on pontoons, items 11A and 11B, containing the shiploader.

15. A building capable of being assembled offsite, in modular form if required.

16. A building module capable of being moved to site, complete with pre-commissioned shiploading system.

17. Referring to Figure 1, a building with integral maintenance facilities, 10, that allow safe access platforms to the spout for cleaning and spout change-out, 28.
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-06-09

18. Referring to Figure 1, a building with integral maintenance facilities, 10, that allow parts, such as a chute, to be lowered to a barge or service vehicle, 22.

19. The use of a floating shiploader system to eliminate ship movements relative to the shiploader due to tides to minimize product degradation and optimize energy usage through reduced differential heights. It also minimizes line-handling.

20. The use of a floating structure to minimise downtime interruption during construction on brown-field sites.

21. The use of the building with structural integrity to resist berthing, wind, wave, swell, and ocean current loads, and to locate and support the pontoons that in turn support the weight of the building.

22. The shape of the pontoons that minimize the effect of swell.

23. The use of a floating structure to minimise noise and marine ecology degradation, facilitate end-of-life planning and mitigate other environmental effects of piled structures.

24. Use of building to further minimize fugitive dust.

25. The ability to use the same facility to load both un-geared vessels, 14, on Figures through 5, as well as geared vessels, 17, on Figure 5 and Figure 6.

26. The ability to load geared vessels more rapidly by adding fixed or retractable stand-offs, 18 on Figure 6, on port side to allow ship's gear, 30, to be directed port side away from loading boom, 15.

27. A shiploader design that, using to features described above, is relatively immune to building deflections resulting from berthing, wind, wave, swell, and ocean current loads.
Drawings Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Date Recue/Date Received 2020-06-09