Cross-Reference to Related Applications

[0001] The present application claims priority from Australian Provisional Patent

Application No 2012903248 filed on 27 July 2012, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a merchant ship. The ship has been developed primarily for the transportation of steel product, such as slab steel, steel coil or finished steel, and will be described hereinafter with reference to that application. However, it will be appreciated that the ship may also be used to transport other items, such as shipping containers, which are often opposing primary inwards and outwards cargoes from resource and/or manufacturing trading countries.

Background

[0003] Conventionally, ships used for transporting steel product are not purpose built. For example, smaller bulk carriers are often used for transporting slab steel and are susceptible to . hull damage and instability when used for this purpose. Moreover, smaller bulk carriers are not particularly well suited to backloading with shipping containers. Significant costs are incurred due to the majority of ships returning empty to a port for reloading with first stage steel or containers, which makes many competitive ship cargo markets non-financially viable. In contrast, a purpose built and designed dual purpose first stage steel and container carrying ship, such as that disclosed herein, offers full freight payload rate efficiencies both ways, with greatly improved logistics loading and unloading cost and time efficiencies.

[0004] Known merchant ships for carrying slab steel are typically side-loaded using cranes that lift slab steel from the dock onto the ship. The conventional process for loading slab steel on these ships is quite inefficient and operator safety requirements are paramount, especially as ship loading with slab steel has been known to cause major stability issues if the slabs are not sufficiently secured to prevent movement. To attempt to overcome slab instability, slabs should not be stacked one on top of the other in stacks without some other means of restraint or slippage/movement is likely to occur. Methods such as the "California stacking method" for stacking slabs and plates has proven problematic with potential capsize issues due to loads moving in rough seas due to lack of restraint. Accordingly, due to loading inefficiency and the need for great care to be taken to ensure the safety of operators, loading of a ship with slab steel conventionally takes around 6-8 days.

[0005] Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present disclosure as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.

Summary

[0006] Throughout this specification the word "comprise", or variations such as

"comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a merchant ship comprising:

a frame defining a longitudinal axis;

a hull formed around the frame and defining a hold therein;

a first deck provided within the hull and connected to the frame;

a second deck formed within the hull and connected to the frame, the second deck located below the first deck,

wherein the first deck comprises:

a platform having a width less than a width of the hull at the level of the first deck, the platform being laterally moveable within the hull, and

at least one section of floor located laterally of the platform, wherein the at least one section of floor is moveable between a first configuration, in which the section of floor is adjacent the platform to increase the width of the first deck, and a second configuration, in which the section of floor is spaced from the platform to create a space between the platform and the hull at the level of the first deck, wherein the platform is laterally moveable into said space to form or increase the size of a space on the opposite side of the platform; at least one crane connected relative to the frame and associated with the first deck, the crane being configured to lift and move cargo from the first deck to the second deck.

[0008] A first section of rail track may be provided on the platform, the first section of rail track extending parallel to the longitudinal axis from a stern loading opening in the hull for facilitating loading of rail wagons onto the platform.

[0009] With the at least one section of floor in the first configuration, the first deck may span the full width of the hull. The at least one section of floor may be hingedly connected to the frame. The at least one section of floor may swing hingedly upwardly away from the platform. In the second configuration, the at least one section of floor may extend generally parallel to a sidewall of the hull adjacent the first deck. The platform may have loading capacity of over 2000 tonnes, of over 4000 tonnes or of over 6000 tonnes. The at least one section of floor may have a loading capacity sufficient to carry loaded shipping containers thereon. The at least one section of floor may comprise two sections of floor, one on each side of the platform.

[0010] The platform may be laterally moveable between a position in which the platform abuts the port side of the hull and a position in which the platform abuts the starboard side of the hull to reposition the access opening. Transverse bulkheads may extend above the second deck, and the platform may be laterally moveable on the bulkheads. At least some of the bulkheads may be longitudinally moveable, and a locking mechanism may be provided for selectively locking the moveable bulkheads in a desired position. For example, one in every two bulkheads may be moveable. The moveable bulkheads may also be moved to increase the size of the access opening and/or to engage cargo on the second deck to facilitate securing the cargo.

[001 1 ] The crane may comprise a plurality of gantry cranes mounted above the first deck. The gantry crane may comprise a tong lifting attachment, a magnetic lifting attachment and/or a shipping container lifting attachment. The magnetic lifting attachment may comprise an electromagnet. The lifting attachments may be interchangeable. The crane may have a lifting capacity of over 30 tonnes, in some embodiments of over 50 tonnes, and in some

embodiments of around 75 tonnes. Each of the gantry cranes may be independently moveable. [0012] The crane may have slewing capability to rotate the cargo through 90 degrees once lifted.

[0013] A second section of rail track may be extendable from the stern loading opening for connecting the first section of rail track to complimentary rail track on an associated dock. The second section of rail track may be provided on a loading ramp associated with the stern loading opening. The loading ramp may be hingedly connected to the ship frame. The loading ramp may be articulated.

[0014] The ship may comprise a ballast control system for adjusting the height of the first deck relative to the waterline and/or for adjusting the ship's trim to cater for load imbalance within the hold. The ballast control system may be adapted to adjust the waterline of the ship to maintain the gradient of the loading ramp, when deployed, to be less than ±15 degrees from horizontal.

[0015] The first section of rail track may comprise twin rail tracks to facilitate simultaneous side-by-side loading and/or unloading of rail wagons onto or off the first deck.

[0016] A traction system may be connected relative to the ship frame to haul rail wagons through the stern loading opening and along the first section of track. The traction system may also eject rail wagons through the stern loading opening. The traction system may have a hauling capacity sufficient to haul a gross load of at least 1500 tonnes along the first section of track. In embodiments comprising dual first sections of track, the traction system may have a hauling capacity sufficient to haul a gross load of 1500 tonnes along each of the first sections of track. In some embodiments, the traction system may have a hauling capacity sufficient to haul a gross load of over 2000 or 3000 tonnes along each line of the first section of track.

[0017] The second deck may have a loading capacity of over 30,000 tonnes, in some embodiments of over 50,000 tonnes, and in some embodiments of around 65,000 tonnes.

[0018] The ship may comprise a third, uppermost, deck adapted to carry shipping containers thereon. A crane may be provided on the third deck. The crane on the third deck may be a gantry crane. A boom or radial crane may also be provided on the third deck. [0019] The hold may be box shaped. The hold may be double or triple walled around fuel store and engine room areas of the ship.

[0020] The ship may be Panamax or Handymax size, or smaller.

[0021] In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides a merchant ship comprising: a frame defining a longitudinal axis;

a hull formed around the frame and defining a hold therein;

a first deck provided within the hull and connected to the frame, the first deck comprising a platform having a first section of rail track thereon, the first section of rail track extending parallel to the longitudinal axis from a stern loading opening in the hull for facilitating loading of rail wagons onto the platform from a complimentary section of rail track on a dock at which the ship is moored; and

a ballast control system for adjusting the waterline of the ship to adjust the height of the first section of rail track relative to the height of the section of rail track on the dock.

[0022] A second section of rail track may be extendable from the stern loading opening for connecting the first section of rail track to the complimentary rail track on the dock. The second section of rail track may be provided on a loading ramp associated with the stern loading opening. The rear loading ramp may be hingedly connected to the ship frame. The ballast control system may be adapted to adjust the waterline of the ship to maintain the gradient of the loading ramp, when deployed, to be less than ±15 degrees from horizontal.

[0023] The ballast control system may adjust the ship's trim for load imbalance within the hold.

[0024] The ship may comprise a climate control system for dehumidifying the hold. Brief Description of Drawings

[0025] An embodiment of the presently disclosed ship will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic vertical transverse cross sectional view through an embodiment of the presently disclosed ship; Fig. 2 is a schematic horizontal longitudinal cross sectional view through the ship of

Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 is a schematic plan view of a freight transport system comprising several ships as shown in Fig. 1 docked at a wharf for roll on/roll off loading; and

Fig. 4 is a schematic plan view of a freight transport system comprising several ships as shown in Fig. 1 docked at a wharf for side loading.

Description of Embodiments

[0026] Referring to the drawings, there is shown a Panamax or Handymax size merchant ship 10 having a frame 12 defining a longitudinal axis 14 and a hull 16 formed around the frame 12 and defining a hold 18 therein.

[0027] A first deck 20 is provided within the hull 16 and connected to the frame 12. A second, lower, deck 28 is provided within the hull 16 and connected to the frame 12. The second deck 28 has a loading capacity of around 65,000 tonnes, making it suitable for carrying steel product, such as slab steel, hot or cold rolled steel coil, or finished steel. The following description will focus on carriage of slab steel 100 on the second deck 28.

However, it will be appreciated that similar principles apply to the carriage of other cargoes, such as steel coil or finished steel.

[0028] The first deck 20 comprises a platform 20a extending the full length of the hold 18 but having a width less than a width of the hull 16 at the level of the first deck so as to define an access opening O between the first 20 and second 28 decks. The platform 20a has a loading capacity of around 3,700 tonnes. The platform 20a is laterally moveable in the hold 18 on transverse bulkheads 21 extending over the second deck 28. It will be appreciated that lateral movement of the platform 20a on the bulkheads 21 facilitates repositioning or resizing of the access opening O to facilitate movement of slab steel between the first and second decks. The range of lateral movement of the platform 20a is between a position in which the platform abuts the port side of the hull 16 and a position in which the platform abuts the starboard side of the hull. Some of the bulkheads 21 are also longitudinally moveable to increase the longitudinal dimension of the access opening O to facilitate the movement of long sections of slab steel between the first 20 and second decks 28. A locking mechanism is provided for locking the moveable bulkheads 21 in a desired position. [0029] A first section of rail track 22 is provided on the platform 20a and extends parallel to the longitudinal axis 14 from a stern loading opening 24 in the hull 16 along the full length of the hold 18 for facilitating loading of rail wagons 26 onto the platform 20a. The first section of rail track 22 comprises twin rail tracks to facilitate simultaneous uninterrupted side-by-side loading and unloading of rail wagons 26 onto and off the first deck 20. In a Panamax size ship 10, around ten of the wagons 26 can fit in the hold 18 at a time (i.e. around five wagons 26 per line of twin track 22).

[0030] As best seen in Fig. 1 , two sections of floor 20b are provided, one on each side of the platform 20a. The floor sections 20b are hingedly connected to the frame 12 and moveable between a first configuration, in which the floor sections 20b are adjacent the platform 20a to close the access opening O and complete the first deck 20 such that the first deck spans the full width of the hull 16, as on the left hand side in Fig. 1 , and a second configuration in which the sections of floor 20b are spaced from the platform to create a space between the platform 20a and the hull 16 at the level of the first deck 20, as on the right hand side in Fig. 1. This space is used to facilitate lateral movement of the platform 20a on the bulkheads 21 to reposition or resize the access opening O. As shown in Fig. 1, when moving from the first configuration to the second configuration, the floor sections 20b swing upwardly away from the platform 20a into a position in which they extend generally parallel to a sidewall of the hull adjacent the first deck 20. The platform floor sections 20b have a normal floor loading for container ships and comply with highest standards.

[0031 ] Several independently moveable gantry cranes 30 are connected to the frame 12 above first deck 20 to facilitate movement of cargo on the first deck, as well as between the first and second decks via the access opening O. The gantry cranes 30 comprise

interchangeable lifting attachments, including a tong lifting attachment for lifting slab steel, an electromagnetic lifting attachment for lifting steel coil and a shipping container lifting attachment for lifting shipping containers. The cranes 30 have a load carrying capacity of around 75 tonnes for lifting and lowering steel product, such as slab steel 100, from the rail wagons 26 on the first deck 20 to the second deck 28 through the access opening O. Once the second deck 28 has been loaded, the tong or electromagnetic lifting attachment can be interchanged with the shipping container lifting attachment to facilitate movement of shipping containers 300 within the hold 18 using the cranes 30. Each gantry crane 30 is designed to the highest duty in the international standards. The gantry cranes 30 also have slewing capability to rotate the slab steel 100 through 90 degrees once lifted to cater for situations where slab steel 100 is stowed with its longitudinal axis athwartships (across the ship). The independence of the gantry cranes 30 facilitates independent movement of slab steel 100 to allow it to be stowed in an overlapped configuration to increase stability. The moveable bulkheads 21 can also be moved into engagement with steel product 100 carried on the second deck 28 and locked in place to assist in stabilising the steel product 100.

[0032] A loading ramp 32 is provided for the stern loading opening 24 and is hingedly connected to the ship frame 12. A second section of twin rail tracks 34 is provided on the loading ramp 32 and in use extends from the stern loading opening 24 for connecting the first section of twin rail tracks 22 to complimentary rail track 200 on a dock 202 at which the ship 10 is moored. The loading ramp 32 is formed from several hinged portions to allow it to be folded to reduce its size when not in use. The loading ramp 32 has a gross load capacity of around 1500 tonnes.

[0033] The ship 10 comprises a ballast control system for adjusting the height of the first deck 20 relative to the waterline. The ballast control system is adapted to adjust the waterline of the ship 10 to maintain the gradient of the loading ramp 32, when deployed, to be no steeper than ±15 degrees to facilitate safe loading of the rail wagons 26 into the ship. The ballast control system is also configured to adjust the trim of the ship 10 to cater for load imbalance, such as due to lateral movement of the platform 20a with fully loaded wagons 26, during loading of the second deck 28, and/or due to unintentional movement of loaded cargo during transport. The ballast control system may also be used to adjust the ship's waterline and/or trim to more generally improve the stability of the ship 10 both during loading and haulage.

[0034] A traction system is connected to the ship frame to haul rail wagons 26 through the stern loading opening 24 and along each line of rail track. The traction system is also adapted to eject rail wagons 26 through the stern loading opening 24. The traction system has a hauling capacity sufficient to haul and/or eject a gross load of over 2000 tonnes, and in some embodiments of over 3000 tonnes, simultaneously along each line of track.

[0035] The ship 10 comprises a third, uppermost, deck 36 adapted to carry shipping containers 300 thereon. Gantry and/or boom or radial cranes may be provided on the third deck 36 to facilitate stowage of the shipping containers 300 on the third deck 36 and to facilitate loading of the third deck 36 at ports with limited cargo handling infrastructure.

[0036] The ship's hold 18 is box shaped. The hull 16 and is double or triple walled around fuel store and engine room areas of the ship 10. A climate control system is also provided to dehumidify the hold 18 to inhibit oxidation of the slab steel 100 carried in the hold.

[0037] To load the ship 10 with slab steel 100, the ship is ideally moored alongside a finger wharf 206, as shown in Fig. 3, with the ship's stern adjacent the dock 202. The loading ramp 32 is lowered to connect the second section of twin tracks 34 on the loading ramp 32 to the complimentary track 200 on the dock 202. If required, the ballast control system is actuated to adjust the ship's waterline and thereby the gradient of the loading ramp 32. Trains deliver the slab steel 100 on rail wagons 26, with the train consist containing around twenty-two wagons 26, each about 13.5m long. Each of the wagons 26 has tare weight of around 12 to 14 tonnes and a gross load capacity of around 300 tonnes. The train engine is located at the rear of the consist when delivering slab steel 100 to the ship 10. Upon arriving at the dock 202, the train consist is split into two equal lengths, each of which is shunted to a respective branch of the twin rail tracks 22, 34. The ship's traction system is then connected to the wagons 26 to haul the wagons 26 over the loading, ramp 32 and onto the platform 20a. The hinged floor sections 20b are raised and the platform 20a, with the loaded wagons 26 thereon, is moved laterally on the bulkheads 21 to abut one side of the hull 16 and maximise the size of the access opening O to facilitate access to the second deck 28 for unloading of the slab steel 100 from the wagons 26 onto the second deck 28 using the gantry cranes 30. To facilitate loading of slab steel 100 onto the other side of the second deck 28, the platform 20a is moved laterally on the bulkheads 21 to abut the opposite side of the hull 16, which repositions the access opening O. The ballast control system automatically adjusts the ship's trim to cater for the load imbalance caused by movement of the loaded platform 20a. If required, the moveable bulkheads 21 may be rearranged to increase the longitudinal length of the access opening O to facilitate moving longer sections of slab steel 100 between the first 20 and second 28 decks. Once the second deck 28 has been loaded with slab steel 100, the platform 20a is centred on the bulkheads 21 and both floor sections 20b are lowered to complete the first deck 20. The moveable bulkheads 21 may be rearranged to engage the slab steel 100 on the second deck 28 to assist with stabilising the slab steel 100. Shipping containers 300 may be loaded on the first deck 20 to maximise the payload of the ship 10. Shipping containers 300 may also be loaded onto the third, uppermost, deck 36 by side loading from the wharf 206 using conventional container loading equipment and methods.

[0038] Loading and unloading of slab steel 100 and shipping containers on the first 20 and second 28 decks using the gantry cranes 30 is automated. The automation includes the use of video imaging to allow for slab steel size recognition and suitable positioning of the slab steel 100 within the ship's hold 18. Operation of the ballast control system is also automated, both with respect to adjustments to waterline for controlling the gradient of the loading ramp 32 and for adjusting the ship's trim for stability.

[0039] In ports without a rail system, the ship 10 can be moored alongside a finger wharf and loaded and unloaded through the stern loading opening 24 using roll-on/roll-off (RORO) with trucks or forklifts. As shown in Fig. 4, one or more side access openings to the first deck 20 may be provided. Articulated loading ramps 204 may extend from the side access openings to facilitate loading and unloading at a traditional side wharf 208 using forklifts or trucks.

[0040] It will be appreciated that the illustrated ship 10, which has been purpose-built to facilitate loading, unloading and transportation of steel products, such as slab steel, steel coil and finished steel, along with shipping containers, provides many advantages over conventional merchant ships, which are not specifically designed for this purpose. For example, it is anticipated that the illustrated ship 10 will allow loading of slab steel to be completed in around 2 days, as compared with the 6-8 day loading time for conventional slab steel carrying ships. The ship's automated ballast control system will also allow

loading/unloading to be performed at any time of day regardless of tides, since the ballast control system will allow the ship's waterline to be adjusted to the desired level for loading/unloading. The automated ballast control system will also improve the safety of the ship 10 by stabilising the ship through adjustment of the waterline and/or trim. The ability of the ship 10 to carry both steel product, such as slab steel 100, steel coil or finished steel, along with and shipping containers 300, means that markets that were previously not financially viable are opened up due to the extra revenue that can be generated by carrying both cargo types and also due to the ship being able to backload with a variety of cargo, such as loaded or empty shipping containers, from a port to which slab steel has been delivered. For example, when outbound from Australia, the ship 10 may carry slab steel 100 on the second deck 28 and empty shipping containers 300 on the first and third decks 20, 36, and when inbound to Australia, the ship 10 may carry loaded shipping containers on all three decks 20, 28, 36. This multi-purpose nature of the ship 10 means that it can be Panamax size or smaller and still carry slab steel, along with other cargo, in a financially viable manner. Due to the ship 10 being Panamax size or smaller, more routes are opened up for the ship 10, which opens new markets that were previously non-viable with conventional slab steel carrying ships.

[0041] Due to the reduced loading time for slab steel and the ability of the ship 10 to carry both slab steel and shipping containers, the ship 10 is expected to result in highly significant bulk transport productivity gains. For example, adoption of the ship 10 is expected to reduce conventional operating practice freight rates for slab steel by more than half. Adoption of the ship 10 is also expected to improve the economic viability of container shipping to and from Australia, for example, by between 20% and 30% due to the ability to transport both containers and slab steel, which allows the ship 10 to carry a payload both inbound and outbound. Adoption of the ship 10 is also expected to permit massive capital expenditure savings due to the ability of the ship 10 to carry a full payload when inbound and outbound, and due to the reduced loading time for the ship, which means less ships are required to carry the same amount of freight. The avoidance of ships returning to port empty should also result in significant fuel savings, and associated emission reductions.

[0042] It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments, without departing from the broad general scope of the present disclosure. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Examples of possible variations and/or modifications include, but are not limited to:

• providing a single line of track 34 on the loading ramp 32 and twin track 22 on the platform 20a, wherein lateral movement of the platform 20a selectively aligns the track 34 on the loading ramp 32 with a desired one of the lines of twin track 22.