IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SHIPS OR VESSELS FOR TRANS- PORTING PETROLEUM AND OTHER LIKE INFLAMMABLE CARGOES
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SHIPS OR VESSELS FOR TRANS-
PORTING PETROLEUM AND OTHER LIKE INFLAMMABLE CARGOES."-A com-
munication from abroad by William Gray Warden, of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Sealed the 15th August 1871, and dated the 14th June 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 14th June 1871.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SHIPS OR VESSELS FOR
TRANSPORTING PETROLEUM AND OTHER LIKE INFLAMMABLE CARGOES," a com-

page_text: munication to me from abroad by William Gray Warden, of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, United States of America, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the internal construction of iron ships or
vessels for transporting petroleum and other like inflammable cargoes,
whereby the danger arising from the leakage of the oil from the casks,
barrels, or other receptacles in which it is stowed away in the ship's
hold, or of the gases or vapours emitted therefrom gaining access to the
boiler furnaces is effectually obviated.
According to this Invention the engine and boiler space is completely
isolated from the cargoe space by means of double-skinned bulkheads
both fore and aft, extending entirely across the ship, into which bulk-
heads steam or water is admitted, and (in the case of steam) kept con-
stantly flowing therethrough by means of inlet and outlet pipes; or in
lieu of steam or water Portland or other cement or other fire-resisting
material may be employed. The sides also of the engine and boiler space 1
are made double up to the height of the main or the upper deck. A
steam-tight lining is secured to the ribs, so as to leave a space between
the outer plates or sheathing and the inner plates or lining, such space
being kept filled with steam or water, as herein-before described. The
tunnel, which in screw steamers serves to cover the propeller shaft,
extends from the rear bulkhead to the stern of the ship, and is also made
double, so as to be steam or water jacketted like the sides and bulk-
heads. The cargo spaces, which are situate fore and aft the engine and
boiler space, are rendered perfectly tight and close by having a tight
metal lining applied to the under side of the decks and secured to the
sheathing or side plates, whilst the covers of the hatchways are further
made to fit perfectly tight. The lining forming the floor of the cargo
space extends a few feet only up the sides, where it is united steam-tight
with the sides of the ship, the said lining forming a receptacle for any
leakage from the oil barrels or casks, which can thus be collected and
saved, whilst the lining and cargoe spaces generally can be thoroughly
cleansed prior to the return voyage by steam or otherwise. The gases
and vapours arising from the oil are discharged through vent pipes
communicating with the cargo space, and rising to a safe elevation
above the upper deck, such vent pipe being provided with one or more
steam jets for the more rapid expulsion of the gases.
"
:
The cargo spaces may either be arranged for the reception of the oil
in barrels or casks or they may be subdivided into compartments or

page_text: cells by means of bulkheads forming part of the vessel's structure, as set
forth in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to me the Twenty-
third of November One thousand eight hundred and seventy, No. 3067.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 14th December 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
84th year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special
license that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry
Johnson, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times.thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SHIPS OR VESSELS FOR TRANSPORTING
PETROLEUM AND OTHER LIKE INFLAMMABLE CARGOES," a communication to me.
from abroad by William Gray Warden, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said John Henry Johnson, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed.
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying

page_text: say):
be
The said Invention consists in certain improvements in the con-
struction and arrangement of steam vessels, whereby petroleum may
safely carried in barrels or other packages as cargo, which has never
heretofore been accomplished owing to the danger arising from the
highly inflammable character of that article and from the presence of
inflammable and explosive vapor which is generated from petroleum at
ordinary temperatures.
The great object to be attained is to secure the cargo of petroleum.
within cargo spaces or compartments wherever suitable in the hold of
the vessel, which cargo spaces shall be gas-tight so as to prevent the
escape of vapor of petroleum into the engine and boiler spaces, or into
the cabins or other parts of the hold into which lights are carried, as it
naturally settles down and is not readily removed by the ordinary modes
of ventilation.
It is also very important to provide the partitions or bulkheads
immediately separating the engine and boiler rooms from the petroleum
cargo with special precautions against leakage of petroleum or its vapour,
and at the same time to furnish a reliable test of the impenetrability of
the partitions to the vapor and an efficient means of immediately
neutralizing its inflammable and explosive. character in case any defect
in the partitions should permit of the escape of this destructive vapor.
A further object which I have in view, as an additional safeguard
against accident, is the removal of the vapor of petroleum from the cargo
spaces in which the packages containing it are held without removal of
the hatches or opening the cargo spaces by means of artificial ventilation,
the necessity of which arises from the fact heretofore alluded to, that
this vapor has a tendency to sink down and lie in a stratum, mixing
with the atmospheric air, however sufficiently to form an explosive
compound. This tendency is peculiarly dangerous on ship board, as
it renders the presence of the vapour less easily discoverable and makes it
more difficult of removal than the foul air usually existing in vessels.
Another advantage accruing from my method of ventilating the cargo
spaces is, that they can be freed from petroleum vapor before the hatches
are removed for unloading the cargo at its destination.

page_text: The importance of supplying a safe method of carrying petroleum in
stcam vessels is obvious when it is considered that the leakage increases
considerably with the length of the voyage, so that by reducing the time.
one half the loss is very much lessened.
Another important result attained by the use of the Invention hercin-
after described is, that other cargo, such as grain, cotton, &c., which
would be materially damaged by contact with petroleum can be safely
carried in cargo spaces adjoining those in which the petroleum is
contained, the construction of the intervening partitions being such that
there is no possibility of the petroleum coming in contact with such
other cargo.
I will now proceed to explain in detail the peculiarities of con-
struction and arrangement by means of which I secure the advantages.
which I have stated, referring to the accompanying Drawings, in which,
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a portion of a vessel for trans-
porting petroleum in barrels or packages with my improvements applied
thereto; Figure 2 is a half transverse vertical section through the
engine and boiler space of the vessel; Figure 3 is a half transverse
vortical section of the vessel through the petroleum cargo space, and
shewing the ventilating arrangement; and Figure 4 is a vertical
transverse sectional detail of one of the double bulkheads detached.
The vessel is constructed of iron, the ribs and exterior sheeting or
skin being of any ordinary construction.
A is the main deck, B the spar deck, and D (Figures 1 and 3) represent
a scries of transverse beams extending across the vessel and fastened to
the sides between the main deck and bottom, so as to give additional
strength. These beams may be discontinued in the engine and boiler
space, or placed at such height as to suit the boilers and machinery, or
if preferred, a lower deck may be substituted for the beams D. The
engine and boiler space if situated as in the Drawing near the middle of
the vessel is separated from the fore and aft cargo spaces by vertical
bulkheads E and F, which extend transversely entirely across the vessel,
and vertically from the bottom of the inner lining of the engine and
boiler room to the under side of the main deck A, thus entirely isolating
the engine and boiler space from both the fore and aft cargo spaces.
If the engine and boiler are placed so near the stern as that there is no
petroleum cargo space aft of them, one such bulkhead F will suffice to
separate the engine and boiler from the cargo space. These bulkheads

page_text: may, if desired be extended up between the main and spar decks, as
represented by dotted lines at w in Figure 1, in which case the space so
enclosed above the boiler space may be used for cooking rooms, and any
other purposes requiring the use of fire and lights.
The sides of the vessel throughout the length of the boiler and engine
space are ceiled or lined gas-tight with iron plates well rivetted or bolted
together, and caulked or otherwise made tight. The floor and under
side of the deck are also similarly covered gas-tight so as to surround the
boiler and engine space with a double iron wall having internal com-
munication on all sides and at top, the ribs of the vessel on the sides of
the boiler space having openings, as shewn in Figure 2.
The vertical transverse bulkheads E and F at either end of the boiler
and engine space are made of double walls of iron plates tightly rivetted
and caulked or cemented and secured to the outer and inner lining of
the ship's sides, so to be gas-tight, having a clear space X between:
them (see Figure 1). Into this space steam may be introduced by
means of suitable pipes either live steam from the boiler or exhaust
steam from the engine, or both, and either continually or at certain
intervals, the object being first to test the perfect gas-tightness of the
surrounding walls of the boiler and engine space, and secondly, by
the admixture of steam with any petroleum vapour which may escape
from the cargo spaces in case of accidental leak in the casing to destroy
its inflammable character. The steam may be allowed to escape through
a small pipe S (shewn in dotted lines in Figure 1) and the water of
condensation may be drawn off through a waste pipe e, also shewn
dotted, or be allowed to run into the bottom and be pumped out with
the bilge water. These bulkhead partitions should form the outer walls
(other than the ship's sides) of all the cargo spaces used for holding
petroleum, so that their tightness may be frequently tested, and that
in case of any leak they may be rendered safe by a constant use of
steam until the leak is repaired; and also for the purpose of permitting
the adjoining spaces to be used for carrying any other cargo without
danger of injury by leakage or smell from proximity to the petroleum.
That part of the hold which is designed to contain the cargo of
petroleum is constructed as shewn in Figure 3, and may if desired be
divided by vertical, longitudinal, or transverse metallic partitions either
single or double as may be desired. Such arrangement of partitions
is shewn in Figure 1, the relative position of the subdivisions of the

page_text: being susceptible of variation to suit the convenience or requirements of
the trade.
In Figure 1 I, I, represent petroleum cargo spaces, and K a cargo
space for carrying either petroleum or other freight as occasion may
require. The vertical partitions G which separate the petroleum cargo
spaces I, I, from each other may be made either of a single thickness
of iron plates, tightly rivetted together or of double thickness, as shewn,
but the partition H which separates the petroleum cargo space I from
the general cargo space K must be made like the bulkheads E and F,
that is to say, of a double wall of iron plates rivetted together and
mado gas-tight with a space between the walls. Instead of being
closed at the bottom like the bulkheads E and F the spaco at the
bottom between the iron walls at G and H is left open or has openings
into the bilge water space under the false or double bottom of the
ship, as shown at a in the detail, Figure 4. The object of this is to
permit any petroleum which in case of leakage or of the accidental
bursting of any of the barrels may find its way through any defect
in the inner wall of the double partition to run down into the bilge
water space in the bottom of the vessel. It will thus be impossible
for any petroleum to pass through the doubled walled partitions, as it
will in case of a leak run down the inner sides of the inner wall, and
cannot accumulate in the space between them, and any cargo such
as grain, cotton, &c., which would be spoiled by contact with petroleum
may be placed with impunity in the cargo spaces K, thus separated
from those containing petroleum. The cargo spaces K being made
gas-tight and otherwise similarly constructed to the cargo spaces I with
gas-tight hatches and ventilators may be used for carrying petroleum
or other freight as occasion may require. The under side of the deck
or decks covering the cargo spaces I and K. is ceiled so as to be gas-
tight with iron plates, and the vessel has a false or double bottom X',
Figures 1 and 3, which extends up either to the top or ceiling of the
compartment on either side or only far enough to form a basin (see
Figure 3) to hold any leakage from the barrels or the contents of any
that may burst. From the rear bulkhead E which forms the rear
wall of the engine and boiler space a tunnel m extends to the stern
of the vessel covering the propeller shaft N (Figure 2) and high enough.
to enable a man to traverse it in case of needed repairs to the shaft.

page_text: spaces and passes through,
It is made of two separate
This tunnel opens into the engine and boiler
but has no opening into the cargo space.
walls or layers of iron united so as to be gas-tight and having a space
between them for the admission of steam as before described in relation
to the bulkheads E and F. In constructing the tunnel m and also
the double bulkheads E and F and any other double bulkheads which
may be used, ribs may be employed to give the desired strength, but in
such cases they should be perforated so as to allow the passage of steam
all around.
In order to provide for entrance into the gas-tight cargo spaces
for holding petroleum hatches q are placed at suitable points in the
deck or decks. These should be made of iron or cased with iron,
and furnished with gaskets so as when closed to be gas-tight. These
hatches should be tightly closed and securely fastened by locks or
otherwise when the vessel has received her cargo and never opened
until she reaches her destination and the cargo spaces have been cleared
of any accumulated vapour as herein-after described.
As is well knewn petroleum throws out vapors which are highly
inflammable and which when mixed with atmospheric air are readily
explosive. These vapours do not easily pass off by means of ordinary:
appliances for ventilation but settle down to the lowest point. This
renders their existence on shipboard peculiarly dangerous, as their
presence is frequently not detected until a light is taken into the
stratum of vapour, when it instantly explodes. To obviate this difficulty
and prevent the accumulation of such vapours in the cargo spaces of
the vessel I inset ventilating pipes, say four for examplo, p, p², p", into
the cargo spaces, as shewn in Figures 1 and 3. These pipes are of
different lengths, the lowest one p" extending down to the bottom of
the cargo spaces and having openings in its sides or bottom so as to
allow the vapor to enter freely. These ventilating pipes open into
a pipe at their upper end outside the cargo space, and into this
pipe is inserted the nozzle t of a steam pipe leading from the boiler.
Below the pipe vare valves or cocks to close the ventilating pipes P.
when not in use. Each cargo space has also an air valve or air pipe
at any convenient part, not shewn in the Drawings, provided with a
cock which is opened to supply air to take the place of the vapour
driven out by the steam ventilators; whenever it is desired to remove
the petroleum vapours from the cargo spaces the cocks of the air
-

page_text: and ventilating pipes are opened, steam is ejected through the pipe v
from the nozzle t, which creates a partial vacuum in the ventilating
pipe p and draws the petroleum vapours up out of the cargo spaces,
discharging them into the open air at any place that may be deemed
safe. The vapours might be driven out of the cargo spaces by filling
them with steam, but this would involve a great waste of steam and
would be injurious to the oil barrels, causing them to leak. Similar
steam ventilators may be also applied to the engine and boiler space
and other places which it is desired to ventilate, especially whenever
there is any danger of the presence of petroleum vapour. The steam
ventilating apparatus should be put into operation at stated intervals
so as to ensure the removal of the vapour from the cargo spaces.
'
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used
or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider
to bo novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First. The construction and arrangement of vessels in which the
engine and boilers are enclosed by a double bulkhead or bulkheads
to which stream is admitted, a space being left between the sheathing
and inner lining communicating with a steam pipe, the said vessel
having a double walled tunnel in case the shaft passes through any
of the cargo spaces extending from the rear bulkhead to the stern,
as and for the purpose herein-before described and illustrated in the
Drawings.
Second. "The use in steam ships for carrying petroleum of double
walled partitions or bulkheads forming the wall or walls of gas-tight
compartments for holding such cargo, such double partitions being
furnished with suitable steam connections with either the steam boiler
or engine or both, for the purpose of injecting steam into the cavity
of the bulkheads or partitions, in order to test their impenetrability to
gas or vapour, and to neutralise the explosive or inflammable character
of the petroleum vapour in case any leak should arise.
Third. The use in combination with otherwise gas-tight cargo spaces
or compartments for holding petroleum of gas-tight hatches, and of
ventilating apparatus for carrying off the petroleum vapour, substantially
as herein-before described.

page_text: Fourth. The combination in steam ships or vessels for carrying
petroleum of compartments or cargo spaces gas-tight excepting at their
apertures for ventilation, (so made by means of gas-tight bulkheads,
deck or covering and bottom and gas-tight hatches) with ventilating
apparatus so constructed with openings for the admission of fresh air
and a ventilating pipe or pipes furnished with a steam nozzle for ex-
hausting the vapours as to prevent the accumulation of petroleum
vapours, substantially as herein-before described.
Fifth. Constructing steam ships or vessels for carrying petroleum in
barrels or other packages with a gas-tight cargo space or spaces, the
outer wall or walls of which (other than the ship's sides) separating such
petroleum cargo space or spaces from other cargo spaces or from other
parts of the vessels shall be double metallic walls, having a space
between them with or without steam connections, such space opening
into or directly communicating with the bilge water space at the bottom:
of the vessel, substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this
my Specification set my hand and seal, the Fourteenth day of
December One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.