ES435808A1 - Column stabilized semisubmersible pipelaying barge - Google Patents

Abstract

Improvements introduced into twin-hull, column-stabilized semi-submersible barges, comprising: a pair of elongated hulls arranged in side-by-side spacing and substantially parallel to each other; a work platform spaced above said hulls at a predetermined height; means for supporting said platform in spaced relation above said hulls, including at least six substantially vertical stabilizing columns connected to said hulls and to said platform on opposite sides of the pitch and roll axes of the barge, the distance between the extremities of said barge along the longitudinal centerline of said barge substantially greater than the distance between the extremities of said barge along the transverse centerline thereof; said hulls having ballast compartments to ballast and de-ballast said barge in order to alter its draft between a floating condition supported by low-draft hulls and an operating condition stabilized by semi-submerged columns with high draft; such being the area of said columns, the number of them and the distance of the columns from the longitudinal and transverse central lines of the barge that provide a greater straightening moment around the transversal pitch axis than the straightening moment around the axis of longitudinal roll when the barge is in the high draft semi-submerged operating condition; crane means carried by said barge for movement in a longitudinal direction with respect to the barge along said platform; said crane means including means for lifting, moving and depositing loads and being of such a size, weight and capacity that the longitudinal movement of said crane means along the barge platform by a predetermined distance when said barge is in such a high draft semi-submerged operating condition will produce a change in the barge seating angle that exceeds approximately plus or minus half a degree compared to the barge seating angle prior to such longitudinal movement of the crane means if such a change in the barge seating angle caused by such movement of said crane means is not counteracted; and ballast means for counteracting the change of the barge seating angle caused by the movement of said crane means longitudinally along said platform in order to maintain the seating angle of said barge within a change angle around the seat axis of plus or minus half a degree with respect to said existing seat angle before the longitudinal movement of said crane means. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)