1,117,553. Submersible barges; ballasting. AIR LOGISTICS CORP. 15 Nov., 1965, No. 48503/65. Headings B7A and B7M. A submersible barge comprises a plurality of flexible sheets 14, 20, 22, Figs. 2 and 6, which form a distensible envelope or container wherein cargo e.g. a liquid, can be lodged, ballasting being effected by suitable material, e.g. a slurry, coal, rock or sand, deposited in a semi-rigid tube 12 attached to the lowermost sheets 14. The sheets 20 have parallel longitudinal edges (23, 24), Fig. 3 (not shown), and oblique edges (26) at their ends, the edges of adjacent sheets being connected to one another by flexible strips or hinge pieces 32, Fig. 4, such that said container has a corrugated form with conical ends 42. The leading end or bow of the container may be separated from the remainder of the container by a flexible diaphragm 44 so that said end can be subjected to internal pressure sufficient to prevent deformation of the container when the barge is under way. Buoyancy control is effected by air-storage tubes 18 within the tube 12. The said sheets and hingepieces may be made of an epoxy-resin-bonded fibre-glass material and may be rendered integral with one another. The tube 12 may be made of fibre-glass.
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