Installation for the transportation of bulk material between a shore and an offshore naval vessel

摘要

installations for loading and unloading naval vessels anchored offshore. Each installation comprises in combination:i) a shore station (1) and an offshore station (2), one serving for loading (loading station) and the other for unloading (unloading station);ii) at least one endless conveyor belt (4) travelling across the sea between said stations forming a loop at either station and adapted to be transformed when loaded into a tubular state and to float in such state;iii) locking means (20,21) at the edges of edges of each of said conveyor belt adapted to interlock when forced against each other;iv) means (7) associated with each conveyor belt at the loading station for loading bulk material thereon;v) further means (25-35) associated with each conveyor belt at the loading station for causing the loaded conveyor belt to fold over and said locking means to interlock thereby to transform the conveyor belt into a tubular state (4") (transformation assembly of the first kind);vi) means (44, 45) associated with each conveyor belt at the unloading station for unlocking said locking means and opening and flattening the conveyor belt thereby to transform the conveyor belt into a flattened state (4') (transformation assembly of the second kind); andvii) further means (46, 47) associated with each conveyor belt at the unloading station for receiving dumped-off bulk material.;By means of such installations loading and unloading can be effected near the site from where the loaded bulk is obtained, e.g. a mine, or near the site where the unloaded bulk is required, e.g. a power station. In this way the construction of expensive harbours can be avoided and transportation costs are reduced.