KR101732218B1 - A floating cargo carrying marine vessel and a method of loading and offloading such - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a cargo deck for carrying at least one independently floating object (10), and a cargo deck for flooding the cargo deck to float the at least one floating object (10) on the cargo deck And the cargo decks (44, 54) refer to floating cargo-carrying marine vessels having downward and inwardly inclined when the marine vessel is in a voyage trim. The present invention relates to the loading and unloading method of the above-mentioned cargo carrying marine vessel.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for loading and unloading cargo,

The present invention relates to a floating cargo-carrying marine vessel as discussed in the preamble of claim 1. The invention also relates to a method of loading and unloading a floating cargo marine vessel as discussed in the preamble of the method dependent claim 9.

Prior art is known to ship or marine vessels configured to transport independently floating objects such as pontoons, yachts or other cargo conveyance or cargo pants or lighters, and the like. Panty carriers or mother vessels, as examples of these types of ships, often referred to as LASH or cargo carriers, are discussed below. These types of panty carriers are used for transporting trousers filled up to a certain port or to any other suitable area near the inland waterways where the panties can carry more cargo, And is operated to be mounted on the ship. The pants may be offloaded from the panty carriers and continue navigating to their final destination. Next, the empty pants are shipped on board and moved to load the cargo to another port.

Panty carriers may be divided into two groups based on the location where the loading and unloading takes place. The first group of panty carriers consists of aft- or stern- or bow-loaded pant baths carried in the longitudinal direction of the panty carrier. The second group of trouser carriers consists of side-loadable and unloadable carriers carried in the transverse direction, i.e., from the sides of the ship.

There are several different ways in which the removal of the pants from the pants carrier is done. The barge bus may have a crane to lift the trousers from the vessel. Another alternative is an elevator that treats the pants also in the vertical direction. A third alternative is the use of the so-called floating dock principle, which is discussed, for example, in GB-A-2 075 432. The panty carrier of GB-A-2 075 432 is flooded, that is partially submerged so that the panties on the line are held floating above the pants or cargo deck on the surface of the ship. Immersion is accomplished by filling the ballast tanks so that the draft of the ship may be adjusted as desired. Conventional barge busses utilizing the auxillary docking principle allow pumping of water into the ballast tanks or allowing water to flow when the troops are transported by the ship, So that the draft of the entire pants carrier is increased so that the pants can be removed from the bus bar. If the pallet carrier has more than one layer of pants, then at least one of the pants in the lowest layer is removed, then at least one pant from the upper layer is then lowered to the bottom of the pallet by the elevator or such lifting means Where the pants to be considered are kept floating and can be removed from the carrier.

However, prior art panty carriers have a problem common to all types of trousers applying the auxillary docking principle. It takes a long time to reduce the draft to initially increase the draft for the load and / or shipment and then to increase the draft to the ship at the time required to change the draft of the ship, and into the ballast tank, All of which require a significant amount of water to be pumped, and the energy used for pumping is also significant. There are several reasons why the draft of the pants carrier should be changed in this way. The main reasons are:

· In the sailing trim, the draft of the ship must be optimized in terms of resistance to minimize fuel consumption,

The transom of the troop carrier should be located at the waterline level or above the waterline level to avoid the increase in resistance,

By this, the trouser deck was placed on the waterline or above the waterline.

It is therefore clear that the draft of the pants carrier must be changed more than the draft of the pants full of the load. And the precondition for guiding the pants to the proper support of the pants and in particular the cargo space is to move in any direction until the direction of the pants deck is horizontal and the pants are removed from the pants deck when the pants start to float It will remain in its position on the deck of the pants without.

Another problem closely related to the problems discussed above with respect to pumping and energy efficiency concerns the cases where the panty carrier is used to transport the loaded pants to several ports. In other words, the carrier will drop one pant or some pants from one port, ship one or more empty pants on board, navigate to another port, and repeat loading and unloading operations. Now, at each port, ballast tanks are filled to such an extent that all the pants begin to float (in the bottom layer, if there are more layers) and the tanks empty after the pants are unloaded or, more generally, To the navigational conditions caused by the draft required for. That is, even if only one pant has to be removed, all the pants are supported. This again leads to an enormous waste of energy and time to fill the ballast tank to the level required by the desired draft and to at least partially empty the ballast tank after the load and / or shipment.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a solution to at least some of the above-discussed problems. The solution is to make the panty carrier only partially submersible.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a solution to the problem associated with the unloading of one or several floating objects by arranging to float only a portion of the floated object that is full of load before the unloading.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new structure for side-loadable and unloadable panty carriers.

In a similar manner, at least some of the objects of the present invention are directed to partially submerging the ship so that it floods the cargo deck in order to float the cargo deck carrying the at least one independently floating object and at least one floating object on the cargo deck Wherein the maritime vessel is provided with a means for leveling at least one cargo deck for loading / unloading trim, and for at least one of the at least one In order to tilt the cargo deck, the marine vessel may be a trimmable marine vessel at the forefront, a marine vessel that can be trimmed at the stern side, or a heelable marine vessel between the loading / unloading trim and the navigation trim, Lt; / RTI >

At least some of the objects of the present invention are to provide a cargo space in which the vessel has a cargo space with at least one cargo deck on which cargo containing at least one independently floating object is loaded, Cargo carrying vessels, which are carried out by partially submerging the ship so as to flood at least one cargo deck to float on one cargo deck and guiding at least one object into or out of the cargo space Wherein the at least one cargo deck of the marine vessel is leveled for loading / unloading in the method and the at least one cargo deck is tilted for sailing trim.

Other exemplary features of the marine vessel and method of the present invention will become apparent from the appended dependent claims.

The present invention has many advantages when addressing at least some of the above-mentioned problems and disadvantages, some of which are listed below.

· Reduce the energy required to fill / empty ballast tanks

· Reduce the time required to fill / empty ballast tanks

· Improve ship safety by lowering the center of gravity of cargo (pants)

It should be understood, however, that the listed advantages are merely optional and whether one advantage or more than one advantage will be obtained will depend on the manner in which the present invention is implemented.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figs. 1A and 1B show side views of a prior art barge bus at a sailing position and a loading / unloading position,
Figures 2 (a) and 2 (b) show cross-sectional views of the prior art barge bus at the navigation and loading / unloading positions,
Figures 3a and 3b show side views of the barge bus in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention in a sailing position and a loading / unloading position,
Figures 4 (a) and 4 (b) show two different cross-sectional views of the barb of Figure 3a and Figure 3b,
Figure 5 shows a side view of the barge bus according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention,
Figures 6 (a) and 6 (b) show cross-sectional views of the barge bus of Figure 5 in the nautical and shipping / underside locations.

Figures 1a and 1b show a prior art barge carrier. The control bridges 2 and the storage and receiving spaces 4 as well as the engine room 6 are arranged in the bow of the barge or pants or cargo carrier. Most of the length of the vessel is secured to carry the cargo, i.e., the independently lifted object 10. The cargo deck 14 or the bottom of the pants deck or cargo space 12 is disposed and substantially horizontal so that the transom 16 of the deck 18 is at or above the water level. The waterline WL is, by definition, a line formed by water on the ship's hull or on the body of any floating object. The vertical position of the transom is important to minimize resistance at sea. The resistance is at its minimum when the transom is above the waterline. In the case of a pallet carrier, the optimal structure is to have the boundary between the transom and the upside of the ship above the waterline or waterline, so that the resistance is the smallest. The pants deck is as low as possible and ensures sufficient space for the steering gear and / or thruster drive units and the steel structure between the pants deck and the upturned vessel bottom. The pant deck 14 may be open at the stall 18 or closed by a gate. For the sake of simplicity, means for stacking the objects to be floated into two or several layers are not shown because they are not part of the invention. Beneath the barge deck 14 is a propeller shaft 20, a steering gear, and typically a seawater ballast tanks 22. The propeller 24 and the rudder 26 of the vessel are located below the transom 16. Wherein the barge bus is shown having an engine-generator package 26 in the engine compartment 6 and an electric motor 30 connected to the propeller shaft 20. Direct mechanical drive is therefore optional.

When the user wishes to load one or more floating objects 10 from the barge deck 14 (as shown in Figure 1B), the pallet carrier will start to float, with the floating object 10 loaded with the barge deck 14 full By filling the ballast tanks 22 with water from the bow 8 to the debris 18 so as to be immersed in the water to such an extent that it can be guided out of the cargo space 12 of the carrier as shown in Fig. It is submerged. Thus, the higher the cargo deck is, the more the cargo carrier should be balled deeper to float or lift the floating object 10 in or out. It is done in a similar way to ship either an empty floating object or a loaded floating object ontoboard. The barge bus is partially submerged by filling the ballast tanks to a depth slightly above the draft of the cargo object to be shipped onboard the water level above the trouser deck. Thereafter, the floating object is guided into the cargo space and fastened to the side walls of the pants deck and / or the pants deck by a suitable fastening mechanism. When the floating object is shipped in the cargo space, a suitable amount of water is pumped out of the ballast tanks to reach the desired sea level and the panty carrier is pushed into the sailing trim, whereby the panty deck is substantially horizontal ≪ / RTI >

It is a long time to float an object or cargo carrier partially submerged under the water to the level that allows it to float an object floating outside the cargo space and / or to load objects floating in the cargo space. It is easy to understand that it requires pumping of water. In the same way, returning the ship to its voyage trim, ie reducing the draft, also takes a long time and requires the ballast to be pumped back into the sea. Therefore, the considerable amount of cost, labor and time required to ship and unload the panty carrier is due to adjusting the draft of the cargo ship.

Figures 2 (a) and 2 (b) illustrate a side-loadable barge bus of the prior art. Figure 2 (a) shows the ship at the ship's trim / draft and Figure 2 (b) shows the ship at the ship's loading and unloading trim / draft. The pant deck 34 of the prior art panty carrier is located in a substantially horizontal plane, that is, the pant deck is substantially horizontal as well as longitudinal in the cross section of the ship. The entire vessel has to be pushed back to the depth of the pant deck 34 to such an extent that the floating object 10 begins to float over the pant deck 34 and may be guided out of the cargo space 32, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 34 < / RTI > Thus, a problem such as that of the trouser carrier of FIGS. 1A and 1B can be seen in this prior art trouser carrier, that is, even if only one floating object 10 from any side of the vessel needs to be unloaded Even if all floating objects 10 are to be lifted. Also, even if the pants deck extends only to a certain length of the panty carrier, the entire carrier is partially submerged, i.e. the draft of the vessel is uniformly increased on both the forward and the back. Thus, the problems associated with time, work and energy consumption are the same as those associated with the trouser carrier of FIGS. 1A and 1B.

Figures 3a and 3b show a barge bus according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention which provides a solution to the problems discussed above. The pants carrier of the present invention closely resembles the pants carrier of the prior art Fig. 1A. Thus, as well as the engine room, the control bridges, storage and receiving spaces are located on the forward portion 40 or on the cargo space 42. [ The space for the cargo space 42, that is, the object 10 to be floated occupies most of the ship length. However, an important difference to the prior art pants carrier can be understood by looking at the pants deck 44. The pants deck 44 begins at the transom 46, which is located at the water level 48 at the water level WL or slightly above the water level WL. However, the preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B is a downwardly inclined downward inclination from the transom 46 to the forward portion 40, i. E. The furthest or deepest float in the cargo space 42 Includes an inwardly sloping pants deck 44 such that the object 10 is located significantly lower than the corresponding floating object in the prior art panty carrier of Figs. 1A and 1B. The positions of the objects 10 to be floated in the cargo space are shown in more detail in Figures 4 (a) and 4 (b).

Figure 3b shows the pants carrier in the unloading and loading trim. A clear difference to the prior art barge busses of Figure 1B is that now both the unloading and shipment, the pallet carrier is trimmed from the hull. The vessel may begin to float the floating object 10 on the barge deck 44 and be guided out of the cargo space or may be guided out of the pallet deck 44 to a depth such that the object floating in the shipping phase may be guided into the cargo space, Lt; / RTI > Preferably, while the vessel is being trimmed at the hull, the floating object or cargo deck 44 is leveled in a substantially horizontal direction and, if the draft of the naturally lifted object remains the same, The object 10 begins to float substantially simultaneously. Since the floating object in the front portion of the cargo space is considerably lower than in the deck, the forward portion 40 of the vessel is partly moved to increase the draft of the bow portion to allow floating objects in the forward portion of the cargo space to float There is no need to submerge, the need for ballast water and pumping is significantly reduced, thereby also reducing the time and energy required to submerge the cargo or pant deck 44. Thus, ballasting is significantly reduced compared to the prior art panty carriers of Figs. 1a and 1b.

Figures 4 (a) and 4 (b) show two cross-sectional views of the loaded pallet carrier of Figure 3a. 4 (a) and 4 (b) illustrate the vertical position of a floating object 10 shipped on a cargo deck of a marine vessel, for example, in relation to the waterline WL. Figure 4 (a) shows a cross-sectional view taken close to the transom 46 (Figure 3a), and Figure 4 (b) shows a cross-sectional view taken at the front part of the cargo space. Based on the general structure of a freight forwarder that must be carried on a transom located slightly above the waterline (WL) or at the waterline (WL) to minimize shipping resistance at sea, naturally, The object 10 is, in this embodiment, entirely above the waterline. However, due to the inclination or inclination of the cargo deck 44, the floating object 10 of Fig. 4 (b) is clearly lower. Since the cargo is located in the cargo carrier of the present invention, and particularly at the front end of the cargo space, it is significantly lower than in prior art cargo shipping marine vessels, the need to increase the draft of the cargo carrier at the front end of the cargo space is significantly reduced And at the same time, the safety of the cargo carrier significantly increases. As shown in FIG. 4 (b), the cargo deck floor is at least partially below the waterline, and the cargo deck is preferably designed to receive seawater and rain water entering the cargo space during shipment or unloading of the floating object And a pump for removing water. However, in some cases the entire cargo deck is above the waterline in the event of a sailing trim despite its tilting, whereby the water entering the cargo space may be drained without using a pump.

Figure 5 shows a side view of a cargo ship according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. This is a problem of side-loadable and unloadable cargo carriers with cargo decks 54 positioned lower than in the prior art cargo carriers shown in Figs. 2 (a) and 2 (b). In fact, as a further alternative embodiment of the present invention, the cargo deck 54 is located at least partially below the waterline, relative to the overall length of the cargo deck in the longitudinal direction of the marine vessel. The transponder 58 of the cargo carrier of this particular embodiment is shown as being at or above the waterline WL, though its height does not affect the shipping ability of the carrier in this embodiment at all. In this embodiment of the invention, it is desirable to use a propulsion system 60, such as a thruster or podded propellant, located below the transom 58, for example. This type of propulsion system requires a larger space in the vertical direction than propeller systems that depend on the propeller shaft (e.g., the electro-mechanical drive of FIG. 3A), but requires less space in the longitudinal direction. That is, a propulsion system has been chosen that allows the cargo deck to be placed as low as desired, and also to increase the length of the cargo ship only to a minimum. Figure 5 shows the constructs 62 as well as the cargo-floated objects 10 and these constructs may be used as additional cargo tanks, life rafts, lifeboats, or fuel tanks And may be disposed in or on the central structure 56, which will be discussed in more detail with respect to Figures 6 (a) and 6 (b).

Figures 6 (a) and 6 (b) show two cross-sectional views of the panty carrier according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention in a nautical position and a loading / unloading position. 6 (a) shows the floating object 10 shipped on the ship's left side, while the starboard side storage space 52 is empty. As shown in Figures 6 (a) and 6 (b), the cargo or pant decks 54 are here, in this embodiment, arranged along the cargo space from the sides of the ship, Lt; / RTI > Figures 6 (a) and 6 (b) illustrate a central structure 56 disposed longitudinally along the centerline of the cargo carrier between the cargo spaces 52. The central structure 56 may be used to reinforce the hull as well as to accommodate, for example, oil fuel tanks, additional cargo tanks 62, life rafts or lifeboats and lifting fasteners have. Depending on the overall structure of the panty carrier, the sides of the cargo spaces may be kept open or have non-waterproof gates so that the floor of the cargo space may be partially or entirely covered with water have. If the cargo deck is submerged, the floating objects in the cargo space provide a portion of their own buoyancy and the remainder of the supported object weight is carried by the cargo deck. According to a further feature of the invention, the side loadable and lifted objects and the panty carrier are preferably dimensioned and conformed to each other so that the sides of the object to be lifted form the sides of the panty carrier, thereby requiring no additional sides for the panty body I do not. Only a small amount of water remains in the cargo space because the floating object is substantially entirely filled with the cargo space and placed on the floor of the cargo space. However, if necessary, the pumps may be arranged to empty the cargo space from seawater or stormwater. Also, because the objects to be floated are so low in the cargo space, that is to say they float partially, there is a risk that the floating object may begin to float on its own when the pallet carrier rolls, It should be understood that it must be fixed in place.

Figure 6 (b) shows the panty carrier of the second embodiment of the present invention in the unloading / loading position. The pallet carrier is now heeled, or tilted, to one side (to the port in Figure 6 (b)) by filling the ballast tanks on one side of the vessel (or by allowing the tanks to fill). By doing so, the ship is horizontally inclined so that the port-side cargo space 52 is submerged so that the pants deck 54 is leveled and the floating object 10 begins to float, and then the object to be floated is pinched / RTI >

The side-loadable pant vessel discussed above requires that the entire vessel be partially submerged in order to be able to load (or ship) one floating object on one side of the vessel (Figures 2 (a) and 2 Avoids the disadvantages of the prior art side-by-side shipping pants buses (shown in FIG. By applying the inclined pants deck of the present invention to side-loadable panty carriers, it is now possible to provide for distribution services, for example, to unload lifted objects, such as LNG pants, In order to ship floating objects, it is possible to use side-loadable panty lines more effectively than before, to navigate to other ports to unload floating objects filled with other loads, and to ship empty floating objects, It is possible to continue this sequence while filling with this empty floating object. Considering how much the loading / unloading time may be reduced since the whole of the panty carrier does not need to be partially submerged and only one side of the panty carrier is submerged, the advantages obtained by using the present invention are obvious. The energy required for ballasting in the same manner is also significantly reduced.

It should be understood that at this stage, the side loadable panty carrier does not necessarily have to be loadable on both sides and it is also a possible option to just load from one side. In this case, the reinforcing structure shown by reference numeral 56 in Figure 6 (a) and Figure 6 (b) is actually moved to one side of the carrier. The cargo space extends from the opposite side of the carrier to the stiffening structure. In this case, however, it is also advantageous if the bottom of the cargo space is inclined inwardly from the loading side, i.e. towards the end of the cargo space opposite the loading end, to locate objects lower than the prior art panty carriers So that the panty carrier does not need to be ballasted as before to fully flood the cargo space.

The third embodiment of the present invention is a combination of the two embodiments already discussed. The first embodiment discusses a cargo deck starting from the traverse over the waterline or above the waterline and having a downward and inwardly inclining inclination, i.e. a deck inclined downwardly towards the fore end along the cargo space, and the second embodiment, And a cargo deck sloping downward along the cargo space toward the centerline of the cargo carrier, the third embodiment is inclined in both directions, but when the cargo carrier is a voyage trim, still downward and inwardly And cargo decks with inclination. That is, it is a problem of a side loadable cargo ship having a cargo deck starting from the side of the ship not only toward the center line but also from the transom and downward toward the bow. These cargo decks are loaded / unloaded by starting to fill the ballast tanks on one side of the ship from the deck so that the ballast tanks on the bow and on the opposite side of the ship are left in their original condition. Thus, the object here is the same as in the two embodiments, i.e., to the extent that the object to be floated is allowed to float on the cargo deck and to a sufficient degree to level the longitudinal half of the cargo deck substantially horizontally, To tilt the cargo ship to flood the ship. The application of this embodiment may require the placement of watertight walls or watertight gates on the sides of the cargo carrier where the presence of seawater in the cargo space is undesirable in the voyage trim. Only the other side walls that prevent free flow of seawater into the cargo space may be used to minimize navigation resistance.

In view of the above description of the present invention, the present invention contemplates that not only barge basses or panty carriers but also freestanding goods in the form of a float, which are floating, are partially removed from the cargo space by submerging the cargo- It should be understood that it is applicable to any other freight carriers. Therefore, the present invention can be used not only for pants but also for loading / unloading pontoons, lighters, yachts, towboats and the like.

It should also be understood that the above is merely exemplary illustrations of new and advanced floating cargo handling marine vessels and methods of loading and unloading them. Therefore, the above description of the invention should not be construed as limiting the invention in any way, but the full scope of the invention is defined only by the appended claims. That is, for example, the cargo carrier of the present invention may have several cargo decks, whereby tilting of the cargo deck is required by at least the lowest cargo deck. Thus, the upper cargo deck (s) may also have a corresponding slope. Accordingly, it is possible to adjust the shipment and load drop of the cargo to occur at the forefront, whereby the cargo deck of the present invention is inclined downward toward the cargo. From the above description, it will be appreciated that the inventive cargo-carrying marine vessel and the individual features of the method of loading and unloading such vessel may be used in connection with other individual features, and such a combination may be used in this description or not specifically shown or discussed in the drawings I did not.

Claims (12)

Carrying Cargo As a marine vessel,
At least one cargo deck for carrying at least one independently floating object (10), and
And ballast tanks for partially submerging the vessel to submergate the at least one cargo deck to float the at least one floating object (10) on the at least one cargo deck,
In order to level at least one cargo deck (44, 54) for loading / unloading trim and to tilt the at least one cargo deck (44, 54) for voyage trim, Characterized in that it is one of a trimmable marine vessel, a marine vessel trimmable on the stern side, or a heelable marine vessel, between the unloading trim and the navigation trim, Marine vessel. The method according to claim 1,
In the voyage trim, the at least one cargo deck (44) is inclined downward in the longitudinal direction of the ship from the transom (46) toward the forward portion (40), and the marine vessel is stern- A ship, a freighter carrying a floating marine vessel. The method according to claim 1,
In the voyage trim, the at least one cargo deck (54) is inclined downwardly from the sides of the ship toward the longitudinal centerline of the vessel, and the marine vessel is a side-loadable vessel, Carrying marine vessel. The method according to claim 1,
In the voyage trim, said at least one cargo deck is inclined downward in a transverse direction from one side of said ship toward the opposite side of said one side of said ship, said marine vessel being a side- In, cargo carrying marine vessels. 3. The method of claim 2,
In the voyage trim, the at least one cargo deck is inclined downward from the sides of the ship toward the longitudinal center line of the ship, or from one side of the ship to the opposite side of the one side of the ship The marine vessel, which is inclined downward transversely toward the side, is a side-loadable vessel, with a cargo carrying marine vessel. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
Wherein the at least one cargo deck (44, 54) is at least partially lower than the waterline when the marine vessel is a voyage trim. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the floating object (10) loaded in the cargo spaces (42, 52) when the marine vessel is a voyage provides buoyancy. The method according to claim 3 or 4,
In a voyage trim, said at least one cargo deck (54) is lowered, at least partially, in respect of the length of said cargo deck in the longitudinal direction of said marine vessel. Cargo Cargo Carriage as set forth in paragraph 1 above As a method of loading or unloading a marine vessel,
The ship has a cargo space with at least one cargo deck on which cargo containing at least one independently floating object (10) is loaded,
Wherein the loading and unloading partially submerges the vessel to submergate the at least one cargo deck to float the at least one object (10) on the at least one cargo deck, and the at least one Is carried out by moving the object (10) out of the cargo space or into the cargo space,
Characterized by the step of leveling said at least one cargo deck (44, 54) of said marine vessel for loading / unloading and tilting said at least one cargo deck (44, 54) for voyage trim , Cargo carrying cargo, loading or unloading of marine vessels. 10. The method of claim 9,
Characterized in that said leveling step is carried out by trimming the vessel at the side of the hull or at the bow side of the cargo carrying marine vessel. 11. The method according to claim 9 or 10,
Characterized in that the step of leveling is carried out by heeling the vessel. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 13 > 11. The method according to claim 9 or 10,
Characterized in that the step of leveling is performed by ballasting the vessel. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 13 >

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