Landing craft launch with Evergreen marine airbags

Strategic Marine has delivered a 48.5 metre landing craft which will service the Australian offshore oil and gas industry and major projects including the multi-billion Gorgon Project.
The vessel, built for local Western Australian marine operations company Bhagwan Marine, will be used in Western Australian’s north-west hydrocarbon province and has been designed by International Maritime Consultants, to accommodate for low incline beach landings.
The craft’s design features a low angle bow to enable heavy equipment to be driven over the ramp door and with a 12.8 metre beam, the vessel can accommodate up to ten 20-foot containers with a maximum payload of 400 tonnes.
Although a multi-cargo vessel, it will be primarily used to transfer building and construction equipment in the areas around Dampier, Onslow and Barrow Island while an added advantage is its economical fuel consumption of about 150 litres per hour at 10 knots cruising speed.
The vessel, named “Bhagwan Shaker” after its sister vessel “Bhagwan Mover”, was built at Strategic Marine’s largest shipyard at Vung Tau .
Strategic Marine will also build a second 40 metre crew boat on speculation after the first 40 metre crew boat the company built on speculation was purchased by Tiong Woon.
Like the first 40 metre vessel, due for delivery around October 2010, the second 40 metre vessel will incorporate a central deck house with seating for 50 rig crew and will reach speeds of 25 knots.
It will be a sister ship to 14 similar vessels delivered to a number of clients over the past five years.
Strategic Marine’s Vietnamese yard successfully launched the first 143 m DSV using Evergreen airbag ship launching technology at April 2010. Then this innovative ship launch solution is found to be safe,flexible and effective. So the landing craft is decided to launch with marine airbags also.
The company is currently contracted for more than 25 vessels at its yards in Australia, Vietnam and Mexico and Singapore, equating to approximately $100 million (AUD) worth of orders.

Why Foam-filled Fenders?

Fenders are an essential part of any dock or harbor facility. Docking a ship is an imprecise matter, and fenders must be in place to keep ships from being damaged by bumping, scraping or crashing into docks. By the same token, the docks themselves must be protected from damage by ships. Fenders also come into play to prevent damage from ships coming into contact with each other. Every vessel from a pleasure craft to a fishing boat to a supertanker needs fenders; every structure from a dock to a bridge to an oil rig does, as well.
Historically, fenders were woven together from rope, in a variety of knots and patterns still known and used today by many traditionalists. They would typically be covered with a layer of old tires
as a buffer, then used as a fenderboard along a dock piling. Like everything else, fenders have been improved over the years.
For years, the inflatable Yokohama fender was the state-of-the-art fendering system. Yokohama fenders, however, require air pressure and safety valves that need to be maintained. Inflatable fenders also have a “recoil” that will cause ships to “bounce” in the other direction after contact. Thousands of inflatable Yokohama fenders are still in use worldwide, but the next logical progression in fender and mooring technology is the foam-filled fender. Constructed with a tough outer skin and heat-laminated layers of foam at their core, foam-filled fenders offer the following advantages:
• Softer berthing. Unlike the “bounce” of inflatable Yokohama fenders, a foam-filled fender rebounds more slowly, rather than jolting the ship and its passengers as it buckles and rebounds.
• All tide mooring. Foam-filled fenders, by design, make mooring easier regardless of tidal phase or conditions.
• Hull conforming. The design of the foam core in a foam-filled fender gives great resilience and the ability to conform to a vessel’s contours. The result is a more even distribution of energies over a greater area, and much lower hull pressures.
• Unsinkable. Like a fishing bobber, the foam core of a foam-filled fender makes it impossible to sink.
• Durable. Foam-filled fenders are available in different rubber compounds like neoprene, EPDM, butyl and polyurethane. The result is a product that is resistant to saltwater, ultraviolet rays, ozone aging, dry rot and extremes of temperature and weather, making it suitable for use in any environment worldwide.