Friday, July 11, 2014

Massive ship submerges itself to lift and haul oil rigs (video)

In the year 2000, Dutch shipping company Dockwise, experts in moving enormous pieces of cargo, moved the badly damaged U.S.S. Cole from where it was attacked in Yemen to a Mississippi shipyard for repair.

Using its big ballast to submerge itself, Dockwise's MV Blue Marlin slid underneath the destroyer before rising up and lifting the entire ship out of the water, carrying it just like any other cargo. The 505-foot Cole fit handily on the Blue Marlin's 584′ x 206′ deck.

The Blue Marlin's much larger sister ship, the Vanguard, is the world's largest float-on/float-off ship. Built in 2012, the Vanguard doesn't have a traditional stern or bow, and all its buoyancy casings are mounted on the side of the ship.

This means the unobstructed 230-foot wide loading deck runs the length of the 900-foot ship, letting Dockwise move loads that can exceed even that length by having enormous items like ships overhang its stern or bow.

According to Wired, this thing could carry the Chrysler Building.

For more of the Wired story or to view video of the Vanguard in action: wired.com

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