Barge ship dual trucks to transport barges thereon

A barge-carrying ship comprising a crane of a lifting-beam type installed at the end of the ship for hoisting barges afloat, runway rails laid on the upper deck and along the inner walls of the both sides of the hull, barge-end-holding trucks disposed in pairs on the rails to travel thereon, each pair of said trucks being capable of taking over a hoisted barge from the crane and carrying the barge while supporting the same at both ends, and another lifting-beam crane installed amidships along a hatch opening of the deck for hoisting the barge from the pair of trucks and lowering or raising the load.

This invention relates to a ship for transporting a number of barges or 
lighters carried above and below its main deck, and more specifically to 
such a barge-carrying ship capable of handling the barges from and to the 
water surface at one end of the ship. 
A conventional barge-carrying ship of the character has on its deck a 
traveling crane for handling barges. The crane lifts barges onto the 
stern, stow and stack them in the holds through hatch openings of the 
deck. The barges can also be placed over the hatch covers. 
The ship thus requires many hatch openings, transverse bulkheads, and 
sometimes barge guides. Accordingly, the barges placed above and below the 
deck leave so much unoccupied spaces in front and in the rear that the 
number of such craft to be carried is limited. 
An additional problem is that the traveling crane, the only means for 
handling, takes much time in moving all of the barges up and down and back 
and forth, with a consequent slowing down of the cargo handling operation. 
A barge-carrying ship of another conventional design lifts barges by means 
of an elevator at the stern, moves a truck from the deck into the space 
under each barge in the lifted position, and then lowers the barge onto 
the truck for subsequent shipboard stowage. Among the problems of this 
ship are the unavailability of the hold spaces below the deck for barge 
accommodation, impossibility of barge shifting between upper and lower 
decks, and difficulties in sorting the barges by the ports of destination, 
particularly when the ship is to call on many ports, because of the 
limited deck areas available for the barges as sorted. 
The present invention contemplates the solution of these problems of the 
conventional barge-carrying vessels. Thus, the invention aims to provide a 
ship capable of carrying an increased number of barges with an improved 
loading and unloading efficiency and ease of trimming, the ship itself 
being simplified in construction. 
According to this invention, the barge-carrying ship comprises a 
lifting-beam crane located at the end of the vessel for lifting barges 
from the water surface onto the deck, pairs of barge trucks arranged on 
the deck and inboard and adapted to travel, with each lifted barge held 
therebetween, on rails laid along the inner walls of the both sides of the 
vessel, and another lifting-beam crane installed amidships along a hatch 
opening of the deck to lift each barge from the trucks and lower the same 
into the hold. 
According to another feature of the invention, the barge-carrying ship 
further comprises a hinged double door for an end opening of the hull, and 
extension runway rails secured to the lower parts on the inner sides of 
the both wings so that when the door is open the rails connect to 
corresponding inboard rails, said extension rails being set in parallel 
with the sides of the ship upon opening of the door to permit the lifting 
beams of the crane at the ship's end to be lowered and raised in between.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a barge-carrying ship 1 whose 
sides are both of a double-hull structure 2. The sides are partitioned at 
suitable intervals in the fore-and-aft direction to provide subdivisions 
for the vessel stability against flooding in case of a hull damage. 
The upper deck 3 has no opening with the exception of a hatch opening 4 
formed in a midship crane section. 
Also, in the hold 5, there is no deck other than a lower deck 7 which 
constitutes the roof of the engine room 6. 
On the broadside portions facing the upper deck 3, there are laid runway 
rails on which barge-end-holding trucks 8 are to travel, upper rails 10, 
and upper-rail supports 11 are installed at suitable intervals in the 
fore-and-aft direction. In addition, barge rests 12 are made fast to the 
points of the deck where the barges in transit are to lie. 
A stern door 13 of the hinged double-wing type is provided for a 
barge-loading opening at the stern and below the deck 3. To the lower 
parts of the inner sides of the both wings are secured extension runway 
rails 15, which are aligned to corresponding inboard rails 14 when the 
door is open. Movable intermediate rails 15' are located between the 
inboard rails 14 and the extension rails 15. 
The movable intermediate rails 15' are used, when the door 13 is open, to 
connect the rails 14 and 15. For this purpose the rails 14 are equipped 
with conventional coupling aids as, for example, means for pivotally 
supporting the rails at one ends so that they can be turned or fixed as 
desired. 
In the aft and midship parts of the ship, cranes 16, 17 of the lifting beam 
type are fixedly mounted, respectively, each with lifting beams 18 for 
firmly holding each barge during the crane operation. The lifting beams 18 
of the stern crane 16 are connected through buffer links 19 to guide beams 
20 so as to absorb much of wave shocks. Normally the barge-carrying levels 
beneath the upper deck 3 are not required to have any deck. To the inner 
walls 21 of the double-hull structure are secured rail supports 22 
extending fore and aft to support both the runway rails 14 and barge rests 
23. 
One of the barge-end-holding trucks 8 is illustrated in detail in FIG. 5 as 
having an inwardly protruding prong 25, which can be driven by a hydraulic 
jack 24 upwardly and downwardly and also for a 90.degree. turn around the 
vertical axis of the jack. The trucks 8 are self-driven to travel fore and 
aft along the runway rails 14 and upper rails 26 both of which are 
supported by the supports 22 above and under the trucks. 
Each prong 25 has on its upper surface an upward protrusion 27 adapted to 
engage a corresponding recess 28 of the matching contour formed on the 
bottom of each barge 30. There are additional recesses of the same contour 
formed at the corners of the underside of the barge and engageable with 
upward protrusions 29 of the barge rests 23 shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. 
Power spply and transmission of control signals from the sources aboard the 
ship to the trucks 8 are done by means of a cable or trolley system. 
With the construction described, the barge-carrying ship according to the 
invention is loaded with barges 30 in the following way. The stern door 13 
of the ship at anchor is opened, its two wings are fastened immovably to 
the both sides of the vessel, and the runway rails 14, 15 are connected by 
the movable intermediate rails 15'. Then, the barges 30 afloat are caught, 
one by one, by the lifting beams 18 of the stern crane 16. 
With its pitch and roll absorbed by the buffer links 19, each barge 30 is 
hoisted, following the guide beams 20, to a desired loading level of the 
ship. 
Next, a pair of the barge-end-holding trucks 8, with their prongs 25 lifted 
up, travel in pair on the runway rails 9 over the deck or on the extension 
rails 15 on the lower inner sides of the wings of the stern door 13, and 
stop at the point immediately under the hoisted barge 30. 
The barge is then lowered by the stern crane 16 until it is supported at 
both ends by the end trucks, with the upward protrusions 27 of the prongs 
25 fitted in the recesses 28 at the bottom of the barge, and the lifting 
beams 18 are disengaged from the craft. 
Having taken over the barge 30 from the crane, the trucks 8 cooperatively 
carry the load, running clear of the upward protrusions 29 of the barge 
rests 12 and 23 on the way, to a desired location for stowage. The trucks 
lower their prongs 25 and allow the barge 30 to lie on the rests 23. 
After this, the unloaded trucks 8 turn their prongs 90.degree. and lift 
them up, and go back to the position where they are to receive the next 
barge. 
When a barge 30 is to be shifted from level to level, it is carried by a 
pair of trucks 8 to the midship crane section and is hoisted from the 
trucks by the midship crane 17. 
For shifting to an upper level, the barge 30 is craned up to the particular 
level, a pair of trucks 8 on that level are moved to the both ends of the 
barge, and the afore-described procedure is repeated to transfer the barge 
from the crane to the trucks. 
For downward shifting, the barge 30 is carried by the trucks 8 to the 
midship crane section and is lowered by the midship crane 17 to a lower 
level, and then is placed on the pair of trucks belonging to the 
particular level, in the same manner as above described. 
The same procedure of barge handling applies to the unloading and also to 
the cargo trimming aboard the ship. 
Proper means of known designs are provided to sense the movements of the 
individual cranes and barge-end-holding trucks and their relative motions. 
Should any sign of irregularity be detected, an alarm will be given and an 
interlock mechanism will work to prevent its development to a trouble or 
hazard. 
With the construction and features described hereinabove, the 
barge-carrying ship of the invention offers the following advantages: 
1. Decks inside the hold part are omitted and the wasteful hold space in 
the direction of height of the vessel is minimized. 
2. The use of the barge-end-holding trucks adds to the reduction in the 
loss of the vertical hold space. 
3. Level-to-level shifting of barges and cargo trimming aboard the ship are 
made easy and simple by the adoption of the hatch crane. 
4. The number of openings in the deck is reduced to but one so that the 
hull strength is increased and more stowage space is available on the deck 
than heretofore. 
5. Since the hinged double door is provided at the end of the ship, with 
extension runway rails attached to the lower parts on the inner sides of 
the door wings, no leveling is required for the extension rails at their 
connections to the inboard runway rails, and the connection work is 
remarkably simplified. 
6. The lifting-beam cranes installed at the end of the ship and over the 
hatch of the upper deck combine with the trucks that travel therebetween 
to handle barges more speedily and safely than does a single traveling 
crane. In addition, this barge-handling arrangement is less costly than 
the conventional ones.