e l f - D u m p i n g Barge Launched By FMC

With a t r a d i t i o n a l crash of champagne against its hull, a 258-foot hydro-dump barge was launched recently by the Marine and Rail Equipment Division of FMC Corporation, Portland, Ore.

The barge (shown above) was christened by Marge Dolle, wife of Henry Dolle, a recently retired employee of Smith-Rice Company, a dredging business based in San Francisco, Calif. Smith-Rice purchased the barge for transporting and dumping dredge material in the San Francisco Bay region.

According to William R. Galbraith, FMC's vice president of sales, "The 3,000-cubic-yard-capacity barge was built in two halves along its longitudinal axis, and incorporates an unusual selfdumping design. Two giant hinges connect the barge at either end.

A large hydraulic cylinder near each hinge and powered by a diesel engine controls the opening and closing sequence. The system can be operated remotely by radio from a tugboat. "The best feature of the self-dumping design is its economy of operation in that it can be loaded in the conventional way and then dumped at a prime disposal area without further equipment. Radio control adds to the safety, speed, and simplicity of operation." The Marine and Rail Equipment Division of FMC is a manufacturer of two types of transportation equipment in Portland—marine vessels and railroad freight cars. FMC Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, 111., is a major producer of machinery and chemicals for industry and agriculture, with 1979 sales of $3.31 billion.

Worldwide, the company has more than 45,000 employees located at 136 manufacturing facilities in 33 states in the United States and 14 other nations.

Maritime Reporter Magazine, page 22, Mar 15, 1980

Read e l f - D u m p i n g Barge Launched By FMC in Pdf, Flash or Html5 edition of March 15, 1980 Maritime Reporter

Other stories from March 15, 1980 issue

Content

Maritime Reporter

First published in 1881 Maritime Reporter is the world's largest audited circulation publication serving the global maritime industry.