Commercial Vessels : The "Riverside Gippsland" (41.55m Container Transfer & Storage Barge)

In 2002 we were approached by Riverside Marine with a proposal to turn an existing dumb barge into a container unloading platform. An initial study was undertaken to assess the feasibility of the project and look at:

• Stability while storing and loading/unloading containers using a crawler crane
• Maximum number of containers that could be loaded
• Suitability of the existing structure to be adapted to take loads from stacked containers and loads imposed by the crane tracks
• Geometrical issues that arise from loading containers from the supply vessel and unloading containers to the landing barge to be taken ashore

Once the initial feasibility study showed that this was all possible, an arrangement plan was drawn up along with structural modification drawings. The vessel modifications were carried out by Brisbane Slipways and Engineering. Commercial Naval Architects then produced stability documentation and devised loading and unloading procedures to ensure its safe operation. The vessel is now operating in Gove (Northern Territory). It is permanently moored on a cyclone mooring supplied by Beaver Engineering Pty Ltd.