Submersible Deck Cargo Barge Delivered To Nedbarges Sublift

Nedbarges Sublift B.V., shipowners of Schiedam, the Netherlands, recently took delivery in Rotterdam of the semisubmersible, oceangoing deck cargo barge Sublift Atlantic. Built by B.V.

Scheepswerf "De Hoop" of Lobith, the Netherlands, the vessel is 135 meters long with a beam of 31 meters and depth of 8 meters (about 443 by 102 by 26 feet).

Its lifting capacity is about 17,- 000 metric tons on a draft of 6 meters (19.7 feet).

The new barge is specially designed for the transportation of extra-heavy and outsize cargoes such as jackup offshore drilling rigs, which can be loaded and discharged by submersion, without grounding the barge. For reasons of versatility, the owners have added some special features to this barge, including a heavy-duty ro/ro ramp that folds back into the deck, and removable rows of stanchions for carriage of deck cargoes of pipe, timber, logs, etc.

Deck loading capacity is a uniform 15 tons per square meter.

This barge, unlike most others of its type, can be submerged re- gardless of excess water depth.

For this purpose it is fitted with a four-point mooring system using the main anchors forward and two stern anchors, all operated by independent hydraulic winches.

The high-volume pumps needed for submersion operations also provide an extra feature: by directing their water flow to monitors, the barge becomes selfpositioning in harbors and other well-sheltered waters.

A sister vessel to be named the Sublift Pacific will be added to the Nedbarges Sublift fleet in March 1981.

Other stories from July 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.