Loading Eqipment

Discussion board focusing on Great Lakes Shipping Question & Answer. From beginner to expert all posts are welcome.
Scott

Re: Loading Eqipment

Unread post by Scott »

I also noticed that the baby Barkers holds are split by the gates for the unloading belt, which means that the loaders need to operate on either side of the hold.
FWE
Posts: 76
Joined: November 7, 2019, 7:14 am

Re: Loading Eqipment

Unread post by FWE »

On the majority of the straight-deckers only the last cargo hold was fitted with pump out boxes ( Rose Boxes) . 2 located in both aft corners where pumps in the engine room would de-water the hold. Also in reverse they occasionally flooded the hold for “extra” ballast to “get her down” during the bad weather months of each season .
Jon Paul
Posts: 888
Joined: December 14, 2017, 8:37 pm

Re: Loading Eqipment

Unread post by Jon Paul »

20221214_110235-1612x1209.jpg
This was taken in the cargo hold of the Charles M White mid '70's. Its a diesel front loader and between the fumes and all the taconite dust it was a bit thick to breathe. No one wore masks and it was even worse when cleaning out for coal and using steel rakes to sweep the hold clean
Darryl1

Re: Loading Eqipment

Unread post by Darryl1 »

In the "Olden Days" on the straight deckers, when they put the tractors and/or frontend loaders into the holds near the end of the unload, nobody wore masks. Those holds were pretty big and all the hatches were off. But it will be interesting to hear what some may say. It would not surprise me if today they did wear masks.
badger

Re: Loading Eqipment

Unread post by badger »

wouldnt the hatch covers be open to allow fresh air into the holds? or perhaps the front end loaders are battery powered. if in 1969 they could put a man on the moon im sure the rocket scientist have that one covered!
badger

Re: Loading Eqipment

Unread post by badger »

probably by the same way trains crews in a tunnel are protected
Douglas Bob

Re: Loading Eqipment

Unread post by Douglas Bob »

It's my understanding that carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas, is heavier than air. How are the front-end loader operators protected from the accumulated CO in the holds while unloading?
GuestfromEU
Posts: 359
Joined: December 7, 2014, 10:33 am

Re: Loading Eqipment

Unread post by GuestfromEU »

Jon Paul wrote: November 27, 2022, 1:16 pm I'm curious how flat bottom self unloaded cargo holds are cleaned between cargos. On the SU I was on we stood on deck and hosed through the hatch openings all the sides, bulkheads and slopes and it flowed down into the gates.
I think the holds are more easily cleaned as the crew can walk on the tank top and hose down the entire hold without moving to different hatch openings. A bilge sump (or several) are likely installed so not all residue needs to be hosed from bow to stern before being pumped overboard or holding tanks.
Jon Paul
Posts: 888
Joined: December 14, 2017, 8:37 pm

Re: Loading Eqipment

Unread post by Jon Paul »

I'm curious how flat bottom self unloaded cargo holds are cleaned between cargos. On the SU I was on we stood on deck and hosed through the hatch openings all the sides, bulkheads and slopes and it flowed down into the gates.
Mr Link
Posts: 1196
Joined: December 6, 2014, 3:43 pm

Re: Loading Eqipment

Unread post by Mr Link »

The McKeil barge Huron Spirit also has a similar system using end loaders to push bulk material to the self-unloader grates. However, being a deck barge, the end loaders and unloading grates are on the main deck, and not in a hold. And of course the barge often handles non-bulk cargos, like steel coils. McKeil bought the barge with the self unloader system. Previously it hauled salt from salt mines on the Baja Peninsula in Mexico to docks in San Diego.

Note that in the John D. Leitch unloading video (that someone else posted a link to below) that the two end loaders are using custom fabricated non-symetrical buckets. It appears that the non-symetrical buckets act like blades to pull material away from the wall and towards the unloading grates.

Unfortunately, I can't find the video anymore, and I don't even know the name of the laker.
William Lafferty
Posts: 1490
Joined: March 13, 2010, 10:51 am

Re: Loading Eqipment

Unread post by William Lafferty »

In 2001-2002 the first laker to have a reclaimer system, the John D. Leitch (originally Canadian Century), had that system replaced during its rebuilding with grates and gates in the hold floor above the unloading belt tunnel. Front end loaders maneuvered the cargo not above the grates over them and onto the belt. This system exploited the vessel's box-shaped holds but eliminated the continuous maintenance the reclaimer required as well as the abuse the holds' floors endured from the rotating reclaimer.
Guest

Re: Loading Eqipment

Unread post by Guest »

The Mark W. Barker's self-unloading system was designed by Jack Leitch in the mid-1990s and fitted to the Algoma Navigator, John D. Leitch and CSL Assiniboine.

The unloading system is an improvement over the reclaimer based design, that were fitted to several Canadian self--unloaders in the late-1960s and 1970s.

The Mark W. Barker is the first self-unloader on the American side of the Great Lakes to use a Jack Leitch unloading system
GuestfromEU
Posts: 359
Joined: December 7, 2014, 10:33 am

Re: Loading Eqipment

Unread post by GuestfromEU »

There are some CSL ships with this same unloading design, CSL Niagara and CSL Assiniboine I believe, but others here can confirm. The John D Leitch may also have front end loaders now, after the original reclaimer machinery was removed. Some ships on the ocean that were designed for transshipment also utilize front end loaders and the ship's deck cranes, but these ships are a bit different, more like traditional geared bulk carriers and the conveyors located on deck. There are several ships in the Oldendorff fleet with this design.

The Stewart J Cost had/has a small crane on deck to remove the deepwell ballast pumps which are located in the bottom of each ballast tank. No other ships have this design that I am aware of. Most ships have main ballast pumps in the engine room and piping connects all ballast tanks. The Cort has individual pumps for each ballast tank.
cpfan
Posts: 790
Joined: March 29, 2010, 2:04 pm
Location: Welland Ontario

Re: Loading Eqipment

Unread post by cpfan »

I knew a guy that worked for Caterpillar in Hamilton. Every winter they would go to some of the ships laid up in Hamilton and perform thorough maintenance on the loaders (or whatever) on those ships. Sorry I don't think he knew any ship names, and don't recall what kind of equipment was on board. This would probably have been before 2008.
Guest

Re: Loading Eqipment

Unread post by Guest »

Several Canadian self-unloaders have/had a similar setup to the Mark W. Barker. It's an improvement over the Canadian Century and Canadian Progress self-unloading system ( along with several other Canadian self-unloaders from the 1970s) where a single reclaimer was used. The reclaimer was costly to maintain, while the front-end loaders in the "Jack Leitch" design are easier to get parts for or even replacement.

The John D. Leitch, CSL Assiniboine, and Canadian Navigator were rebuilt with the "Jack Leitch system" in the mid- to late-1990s. Here is a Youtube video of the John D. Leitch unloading at Burns Harbor. https://youtu.be/tuyXKZO-sIo
Scott

Loading Eqipment

Unread post by Scott »

Seeing that the Mark Barker has front end loaders installed in her cargo holds, has there been any other freighter with such a setup? I seem to recall the Stewart J Cort utilizing a mobile crane on her deck, but not for unloading purposes.
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