Customer requested to transport four large-sized coastal engineering vessels from South China to Africa.
Main challenge was the size of the vessels. The largest of the four marine engineering vessels serving as cargo was the Tai Xin 1 sand mining vessel, measuring 99.43 metres long, 25 metres wide and 29.2 metres high, with a bottom area nearly the size of a standard football pitch. The other three ships weigh 3,500 tons, 275 tons and 243 tons respectively, with a total cargo volume of more than 140,000 billed tons.
Solution
The solution of a semi-submersible vessel was proposed. The loading deck is submerged in order to carry heavy tonnage goods (such as construction vessels, floating pile drivers, barges, ships, etc.)
Unlike ordinary surface vessel, semi-submersible typically has deeper water feeds but is not completely submerged in water. Part of the hull or structure is exposed at water surface. Due to the high proportion of volume submerged in the water, semi-submersible maintains better stability and is suitable for use as working platforms on the water.
Results
The pre-port and anchor water float operation was successfully completed with strong support from customer. It was successfully loaded on the 65,000-tonne semi-submersible “Innovation Way” outer vessel, which departed for Mozambique in eastern Africa.
The successful implementation of this project has provided the company with invaluable marine engineering project operational experience and laid a solid foundation for future participation in more marine engineering projects and international engineering projects.
