EP3277571B1

EP3277571B1 - Improved device for a vessel

Info

Publication number: EP3277571B1
Application number: EP16720884.2A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Stephen James REGIS
Original assignee: Turnell And Odell Ltd
Current assignee: Turnell And Odell Ltd
Priority date: 2015-03-29
Filing date: 2016-03-29
Publication date: 2021-01-20
Anticipated expiration: 2036-03-29
Also published as: GB201505384D0; EP3277571A1; WO2016156823A1

Description

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a device for improving the safety of a vessel. Particularly, a device that provides a barrier to resist unauthorised boarding of a vessel, for example by pirates.

Background to the Invention

The threat of piracy is still prevalent in many parts of the world. For ships and boats, an attack by pirates threatens the safety of the crew along with the vessel and cargo.
Many vessels in areas which are vulnerable to piracy and armed robbery have attempted to protect themselves using concertina razor wire attached to the outer handrails. However, this solution is costly, dangerous to the crew on the ship and, in many cases, has proven to be ineffective.
GB2496757 , WO 2013/051946 , Chinese patent ZL 200920136418 and WO2014/182278 each provide examples of security devices that are operable for connection to the peripheral edges of a ship or vessel to prevent unauthorised boarding of the ship by pirates and the like.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a device for creating a barrier to resist unauthorised boarding a vessel, the device comprises:

a unitary piece defined by a mounting plate and a fend plate; wherein the mounting plate is configured to be connected in a substantially vertical orientation to part of a vessel; and
the fend plate extends outwardly and downwardly from an uppermost edge of the mounting plate when the mounting plate is in use wherein the fend plate defines a first sloped surface and wherein a free edge of the fend plate defines a second sloped surface.

In at least one embodiment a device for resisting boarding is provided which is easily attachable to a vessel, such as a ship. The fend plate creates an overhang which is designed to deter even the most experienced of climbers.
The mounting plate may be attachable to a vessel's guardrail. Having the mounting plate attachable to the ship's guardrail provides a simple and convenient attachment point to allow easy deployment of the device. It also provides quick access to the device should maintenance or replacement of a device be required.
The mounting plate may further comprise tether points and a tethering mechanism arranged to facilitate tethering the mounting plate in front of or behind a tether point on a vessel. The tether points may be defined by apertures through the mounting plate.
The mounting plate, in particular an assembly of multiple mounting members provides a continuous surface to visually deter unauthorised boarders.
The tethering mechanism may comprise a ratchet strap arrangement or similar means of attachment.
The fend plate comprises a front edge, which may define a second sloped surface, wherein the second sloped surface is defined by an acute angle, which is greater than the acute angle defining the first sloped surface, whereby the second sloped surface defines a steeper slope than the first sloped surface, wherein the acute angles are measured relative to a common horizontal datum.
The junction between the fend plate and the mounting plate may be defined by an underside radius and an upperside radius, wherein the underside radius is dis- proportionately smaller than the upperside radius.
Providing the fend plate along the edge of the mounting plate may reduce the manufacturing costs and permits the device to be manufactured as a single unit.
The devices can be linked together in some embodiments to form a continual barrier along the length of the vessel, for example a ship. Alternatively, a plurality of devices can be arranged such that each device abuts at least one adjacent device to form a continuous barrier along the length of the vessel, for example a ship.
The device may further comprise a connecting mechanism on an edge of the mounting plate and/or on an edge of the fend plate.
The connecting mechanism may be defined by a protruding element on one edge and a socket on an opposite edge of the mounting plate and/or the fend plate, wherein the protruding element on one device is engageable with a socket on an adjacent device, whereby engaging the protruding elements and the sockets of adjacent devices provides a continuous barrier.
The protruding section and the socket may be configured to form a dovetail connection between adjacent devices.
The mounting a plate may comprise on one side an outside planar surface and on an opposite side one of more bracing members, wherein channels are defined between bracing members.
The mounting plate may comprise a corrugated outer surface, wherein the corrugated outer surface defines channels on one or more outer surfaces of the mounting plate.
The mounting plate and fend plate may be made of hollow construction.
At least the mounting plate may be manufactured from a material, which is resistant to damage by seawater contact and UV radiation.
At least the mounting plate may be manufactured from a polymer material. The polymer material may comprise a polypropylene material. Polymers have many advantages over, for example, metal such as weight, ease of manufacture and cost of material.
The device may incorporate at least one channel defined on the mounting plate and/or the fend plate. Where the device is manufactured as a hollow unit, channels on the outer surfaces may form bracing elements inside the hollow construction and can help stiffen the device.
Where the channel is defined on a surface on the mounting plate and/or the fend plate, where the surface is located on a side of the mounting plate and/or fend plate that faces the vessel to which the device is attached, the channel may be adapted to assist in draining water/fluids from a ship's deck.
A further aspect of the present invention provides a barrier comprising a plurality of devices according to the first aspect arranged in a side-by-side arrangement thereby forming a continuous barrier.

Brief Description of the Drawings

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a barrier to resist unauthorised boarding a vessel, the barrier comprises an array of devices, according to an embodiment of the present invention linked together and fitted to a vessel;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a single device used to create the barrier of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a further perspective view of a device of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a top view of a device of Figure 2; and
Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the method of connecting a device of Figure 2 to another device of Figure 2 to produce a barrier as illustrated in Figure 1.

Detailed Description of the Drawings

Reference is first made to Figure 1, which illustrates a perspective view of an array of linked devices, generally indicated by reference numeral 10, for resisting unauthorised boarding of a vessel 12. The array 10 comprises a
number of individual devices 14 connected to form a barrier 16 designed to resist unauthorised boarding of the vessel 12, for example by pirates.
An example of an individual device 14 is shown in Figure 2, which represents a perspective view of a single element of the array 10 of linked devices 14 as illustrated in Figure 1.
The device 14 comprises a mounting plate 18 and a lip or fend plate 20, which represents a fend plate operable to fend off unauthorised access to a vessel from the side or below. The fend plate 20 extends outwardly and downwardly from a top edge 22 of the mounting plate 18.
The mounting plate 18 is designed to be attached to a guardrail of the ship, where the back face 26 of the mounting plate 18 is received against the guardrail and is secured thereto. Apertures 24 are defined by the mounting plate 18 to allow the device 14 to be connected to a guardrail. The back face 26, defining the apertures 24, is therefore the shipboard side. As this shipboard side 26 faces onto the deck 28 (Figure 1) of the vessel 12, any water on the deck 28 can slosh against the shipboard side 26 of the device 10.
In the illustrated example the shipboard side 26 of the mounting plate 18 includes channels 30, which in use, provide a pathway to allow water to drain from the deck 28. In an alternative embodiment the mounting face of the mounting plate 18 is flat and planar without channels. Channels may be provided on the seaward side of the mounting plate 18 and/or fend plate 20.
The mounting plate 18 and the fend plate 20 each comprise a tapered edge as can be seen in Figure 2. Each edge tapers from a smaller cross sectional width at the free edge to a larger cross sectional width at the junction 22 where the mounting plate 18 and the fend plate 20 meet. The uppermost surface of the junction 22, in the orientation illustrated in figure 2, comprises a curved surface which has a radius that is dis-proportionately larger than the radius of the underside junction. The curvature of the uppermost junction is such that fingers, a ladder, a hook, a rope or the like cannot obtain leverage to gain unauthorised access to the vessel.
In the illustrated example the fend plate 20, includes on a side face a recess 32 and on an opposite side face a lug 34 to permit individual devices 14 to be connected to form an array 10 of devices.
In an alternative embodiment, the fend plate 20 comprises clean planar side faces such that adjacent devices can merely be placed side-by side and abut each other, without physical engagement. When each device 14 is secured to the guardrail a secure barrier is formed as illustrated in figure 1, but in this configuration each device 14 has potential to fail or be removed as a discrete unit, whilst the integrity of the barrier overall is not compromised.
As described above, the fend pate 20 defines a first sloping surface that slopes downwardly from the junction of the fend plate 20 with the mounting plate 18. In an embodiment of the present invention, the front edge of the fend plate 20 includes a second sloping surface (no reference number provided in the figures). The second sloping surface also slopes downwardly relative to the location and orientation of the junction between the fend plate 20 and the mounting plate 18. The second sloping surface is defined by an acute angle that is greater than the acute angle defining the first sloping surface, whereby the second sloping surface defines a steeper slope than the first sloping surface. The configuration of the sloping surfaces defining the fend plate 20 is such that gripping is made more difficult for potential unauthorised boarding by pirates and the like.
Figure 3 illustrates a further perspective view of an example of a device 14 of Figure 1, and Figure 4 shows a top view of a device 14 of Figure 1. In the illustrated example, the lug 34 is mounted to a first flange 36 which runs the full length of the device 14. When the device 14 is mounted to a vessel 12, the first flange 36 forms a channel with the ships guardrail into which a second flange 38, defined by an opposite edge of the device 14, can slot (as illustrated in Figure 5). Adjacent devices 14 are held in position by the lug 34 of one device 14 being received in a recess 32 of an adjacent device 14. The configuration of the lug 34 and the recess 32 may be trapezoidal in shape such that adjacent devices are dovetailed together.
Referring back to Figure 3, it can be seen that the device 14 has a hollow interior 44 and defines a set of channels 40 on a seaward side 42. The channels 30, 40 represent bracing elements towards the interior of the hollow body and therefore act to provide strength to the hollow device 14. The hollow device 14 may be manufactured by rotational moulding to minimise cost and weight. A suitable material for such a device 14 a polypropylene material which is resistant to seawater and UV light.
The device 14 may comprise recesses or channels on exposed surfaces of the mounting plate 18 and/or the fend plate 20. The channels may be provided as pathways to remove water from the ship's deck or as means to minimise the risk or prevent unauthorised tethering of ropes, chains or the like to the device 14 or the barrier 10 formed from an array of the device 14 according to embodiments of the present invention.
Whilst specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it will be appreciated that departures from the described embodiments may still fall within the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.

Claims

A device (14) for creating a barrier to resist unauthorised boarding a vessel, the device comprises:
a mounting member (18) and a fend plate (20); wherein the

mounting
member (18) is configured to be connected in a substantially vertical orientation to a perimeter part of a vessel;
wherein the fend plate (20) defines a first sloped surface, which extends outwardly and downwardly from a junction with an uppermost edge of the mounting member (18) when the mounting member (18) is in an in use orientation, wherein the fend plate (20) comprises a front edge, which defines a second sloped surface, wherein the second sloped surface is defined by an acute angle, which is greater than an acute angle defining the first sloped surface, whereby the second sloped surface defines a steeper slope than the first sloped surface, wherein the acute angles are measured relative to a common horizontal datum; and
wherein one or more grooves is provided on an upper and outer exposed section of the second sloped surface.
A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mounting member (18) further comprises tether points (24) and a tethering mechanism arranged to facilitate tethering the mounting member (18) in front of or behind a tether point on a vessel.
A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the tethering mechanism comprises a ratchet strap arrangement.
A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein thickness of the mounting member (18) and the fend plate (20) tapers from a smaller cross-sectional width at a free edge of the mounting member (18) and a free edge of the fend plate (20) to larger cross-sectional width at the junction (22) of the mounting member (18) and the fend plate (20).
A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the junction (22) between the fend plate (20) and the mounting member (18) is defined by an underside radius and an upperside radius, wherein the underside radius is dis-proportionately smaller than the upperside radius.
A device as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising a connecting mechanism (32, 34) on an edge of the mounting member (18) and/or on an edge of the fend plate (20).
A device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the connecting mechanism is defined by a protruding element (34) on one edge and a socket (32) on an opposite edge of the mounting member (18) and/or the fend plate (20), wherein the protruding element (34) on one device (14) is engageable with a socket (32) on an adjacent device (14), whereby engaging the protruding elements (34) and the sockets (32) of adjacent devices (14) provides a continuous barrier (10).
A device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the protruding section (34) and the socket (32) are configured to form a dovetail connection between adjacent devices.
A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the mounting member (18) comprises on one side an outside planar surface and on an opposite side one of more bracing members (40), wherein channels (40) are defined between bracing members.
A device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the mounting member (18) comprises a corrugated outer surface, wherein the corrugated outer surface is defined
by channels (30) on the outer surface of the mounting member (18).
A barrier comprising a plurality of devices (14) as claimed in any preceding claim arranged in a side-by-side arrangement thereby forming a continuous barrier (10).