A method of unloading cargo at sea from a cargo vessel to a cargo barge, comprising the steps of providing a catamaran vessel having a pair of spaced apart catamaran hulls and a pair of spaced apart arch shaped frames, each frame attached to each hull at a frame lower end portion; positioning the cargo vessel in between the hulls and under the top portion of the frames; placing one or more cargo barges next to one or both of the hulls, wherein the hull is in between the cargo vessel and the cargo barge; and unloading cargo from the cargo vessel to the cargo barge wherein the cargo travels from the cargo vessel, over the catamaran hull to the cargo barge.

The present invention relates to a rotating and sliding boat boarding door mechanism configured to aid the vessel's occupants in their ingress and egress to and from the vessel. More particularly, the present invention provides a rotating and sliding boat boarding door assembly and system that slidingly moves into a recess in the vessel's exterior (e.g., side, transom, and/or gunwale) that has been configured to receive and maintain the boarding door assembly in a position where it is out of sight when fully recessed.

The present invention relates to a rotating and sliding boat boarding door mechanism configured to aid the vessel's occupants in their ingress and egress to and from the vessel. More particularly, the present invention provides a rotating and sliding boat boarding door assembly and system that slidingly moves into a recess in the vessel's exterior (e.g., side, transom, and/or gunwale) that has been configured to receive and maintain the boarding door assembly in a position where it is out of sight when fully recessed.

The present invention is directed to a cargo scraping apparatus for a cargo carrier having a cargo hold. The cargo scraping apparatus includes a gantry, at least one scraper blade adapted to substantially span a width of the cargo hold, means to connect the at least one scraper blade to the gantry, and means to raise or lower the at least one scraper blade relative to the gantry. Moving the gantry relative to the cargo hold causes the at least one scraper blade to push or sweep cargo towards one or more regions of the cargo hold. The invention is also directed to a system for unloading cargo from a cargo hold, a system for assisting in loading cargo into a cargo hold, and a system for loading and unloading cargo into and from a cargo hold.

A dock handrail gate includes a base plate installable on the surface of the dock and a post mounted to the base plate perpendicular to the base plate. The handrail also has a rail that attaches to the top portion of the post and extends horizontally and inclines downwardly at an angle inwardly towards the post and further attaches to the bottom portion of the post. The handrail may also have an inner tube that includes an inner sleeve to allow the post and the rail to be lifted and rotated to lock into one or more positions.

A method and apparatus for rapid loading stacks of items aboard vessels which can include rotating palletized items to depalletize the items, and then placing the items on a lifting robot, lifting the robot and items into the hold of a vessel, removing the items from the robot using a load push lift truck, and then using the load push lift truck to stow the items in a stowage location. The empty robot can be removed from the hold of the vessel and put in a position to receive a another depalletized stack of cartons. In one option the robot has a plurality of fork channels for receiving the blades of a load push lift truck along with receiving the blades or a rotating lift truck.

A material handling system for handling heavy loads on a ship includes at least two air casters arranged to lift a heavy load off a ground surface, at least two drive units releasably connectable to said air casters and/or to said heavy load, wherein each one of said drive units includes at least one drive means for positioning said heavy load, and a drive controller arranged to control said at least one drive means. The material handling system further includes at least one user input unit and an air caster controller arranged to control a lifting force of said air casters, wherein said drive controllers and said air caster controller are arranged in communication with said at least one user input unit such that said drive means of said drive units and said lifting force of said air casters are controllable from said at least one user input unit.

A pile displacement system includes a first subsystem, and a second subsystem arranged adjacent to the first subsystem along a longitudinal axis of the monopile. Each of the first and the second subsystems includes a height adjustable support, and a pile support unit arranged on the height adjustable support such that the pile support unit is movable along the monopile's longitudinal axis. A method for displacing a horizontally oriented monopile for an off-shore wind turbine parallel to a base floor by use of the pile displacement system includes arranging the monopile onto the monopile support units of the first and second subsystems; lowering the height adjustable support of at least the first subsystem towards the base floor until the weight of the monopile is transferred from at least the first subsystem to an external support structure aligned along the monopile's longitudinal axis, adjacent to the first subsystem; moving the pile support unit of the first subsystem a distance in direction away from the external support structure; raising the height adjustable support of the first subsystem away from the base floor until the weight of the monopile is transferred from the external support structure to the first subsystem; and moving the pile support units of the first and the second subsystems a distance in direction towards the external support structure.

An aft-mounted dive platform system includes at least one hull portion rigidly affixed to a hull of a boat. A dive platform is coupled to the at least one hull portion and is positioned, at least partially, behind at least one propeller drive system affixed to the stern of the boat. The at least one hull portion includes a first hull portion and a second hull portion. The first hull portion includes: a first inner portion surface positioned proximate a first side of the at least one propeller drive system and a first outer portion surface positioned proximate a first outer surface of the hull of the boat; wherein the first outer portion surface of the first hull portion is recessed with respect to the first outer surface of the hull of the boat.

The invention relates to a launch apparatus for an Unmanned Underwater Vehiclein particular, for an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle or for a Remotely Operated Vehiclewith a launching tube having an inner wall and an outlet, and the Unmanned Underwater Vehicle contained within the launching tube, whereby the Unmanned Underwater Vehicle has a vehicle casing with a vehicle casing inhomogeneity, such that an ejection of the Unmanned Underwater Vehicle causes different contact loads between the vehicle casing and the inner wall, whereby the Unmanned Underwater Vehicle has a detachable compensating form, which is designed in such a way that the vehicle inhomogeneity is compensated, such that the result is a combination of the Unmanned Underwater Vehicle and the detachable compensating form, the combination whereof, when ejected, causes a substantially more uniform contact load to occur between the combination and the inner wall.