Logistics by Heavy Lift Ships - Basics Operations - RO-RO / Ballasting

Heavy Lift Ships:

A heavy-lift ship is a vessel designed to move very large loads that cannot be?handled by normal ships.

They are of two types: semi-submerging vessels capable of?lifting another ship out of the water and transporting it; and vessels that augment unloading facilities at inadequately equipped ports.

By another definition, a heavy-lift ship is a ship that is specially designed and capable of loading and unloading heavy and bulky items. It typically has booms of sufficient capacity to accommodate a single lift of over 100 tons. This might be better known as a Crane Ship. The Crane Ship mission is to off-load containers and other outsized cargo from non self-sustaining cargo ships offshore, or at bare or underdeveloped ports.

More such vessels have been ordered as a result of the growing demand in the oil and gas industry. They are used to transport and discharge heavy objects via a lift on/lift off method by means of cranes of over 800 tons each.

Heavy Lift Vessels are specifically designed to carry heavy or oversized cargo. These vessels meet the rising demand for block or modular transportation for fully assembled plants and/or equipment.

Most of the heavy lift ships are self-sustaining?diversified cargo handlers. They can be equipped with gantry or telescopic auxiliary cranes for the conventional load-on/ load-off ramps for Ro-Ro movements, and have semi-submersible capabilities to accommodate float-on/float-off operations.

?In some instances operators extend their activities to cover inland transit with multi-wheeled self-propelling transporters enabling carriage of cargo from the point of manufacture to final destination.

Heavy Lift Vessels are specifically designed to carry heavy or oversized cargo. These vessels meet the rising demand for block or modular transportation for fully assembled plants and/or equipment.

Illustration of Heavy Lift Ship:

Below is the illustration diagram of a heavy lift ship.

Ballasting and DeBallasting Operations of a Heavy Lift Ship:

Ballasting or de-ballasting is a process by which sea water is taken in and out of the ship when the ship is at the port or at the sea.?The sea water carried by the ship is known as ballast water.

?Ballast or ballast water is sea water carried by a vessel in its ballast tanks to ensure its trim, stability and structural integrity. Ballast tanks are constructed in ships with piping system and high capacity ballast pumps to carry out the operation.

When no cargo is carried by the ship, the later becomes light in weight, which can affect its stability. For this reason, ballast water is taken in dedicated tanks in the ship to stabilize it. Tanks are filled with ballast water with the help of high capacity ballast pumps and this process is known as Ballasting.

However, when the ship is filled with cargo, the stability of the ship is maintained by the weight of the cargo itself and thus there is no requirement of ballast water. The process of taking out ballast water from ballast tanks to make them empty is known as de-ballasting

What is RoRo?

RoRo is short for 'Roll-on, Roll-off', which describes how products are loaded and discharged from a vessel.?

RoRo allows Shipments to roll on and off the vessel, as opposed to being lifted onboard using cranes.?

Self-propelled products, such as cars and tractors, roll on and off the vessel on their own wheels.?

Products that are not self-propelled are placed on handling equipment with wheels in the terminal to be rolled on and off the vessel.?Heavy lifts are loaded with SPMT (Self Propelled Modular Trailers) or Hydraulic Axels.

Loading and discharge are via a wide stern ramp. The ramp capacity on our vessels can be up to 500 tonnes, whereas most other RoRo carriers have ramp capacities of around 150 tonnes.?

Shipping with RoRo way is a secure and efficient process as less lifting is required and loading is not weather-dependent

About Author:

Dheeraj Gupta, Logistics Professional, B.Tech( Mech. AMIE) MBA (Operations) having rich experience of 15+ years while associating with Project Logistics Management for various Domestics & International Power, Renewable Energy, Refinery and Petrochemical Construction Projects.

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