Buffer system for tankvessels
OwnerJohn J. Gallagherinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A buffer system for liquid cargo-carrying tankvessels including closed, flexible buffer tanks in way of at least the bottoms of the cargo tanks and apparatus to transmit a buffer fluid to and from the buffer tanks to selectively provide buffer protection for the cargo against penetration of at least the tank bottoms. The buffer tanks are also used for carrying clean ballast and for carrying cargo which is incompatible with the cargo carried in the cargo tanks.
Claims5
In a bulk liquid cargo vessel having plural cargo tanks each having top, side and bottom walls, the system for shielding the liquid cargo carried in said tanks in the event of cargo tank penetration comprising:
- top, side and bottom elastomeric walls defining at least one closed buffer tank disposed in each of said cargo tanks to correspond to like walls of said cargo tanks respectively, at least the bottom walls of said buffer tanks being formed and disposed to substantially cover the bottom walls of said cargo tanks;
- means sealably fixing at least the bottom walls of said buffer tanks to the bottom walls of said cargo tanks;
- and
- fluid means communicative with each of said buffer tanks to transmit a non-pollutant buffer fluid thereto to selectively displace the top wall thereof to a first position spaced from the bottom wall of the cargo tank in which it is disposed to interpose said non-pollutant buffer fluid at least between said cargo, and the bottom wall of said cargo tanks and shield cargo loaded in said tank at least from penetration of the bottom wall thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.