Cargo handling apparatus for cold storage holds of fishing vessels

A cargo handling apparatus for cold storage holds of fishing vessels comprising a storage station underneath a deck of a vessel for storing cargo units of fish and shellfish in a frozen or cold state in the vessels and an overhead traveling crane, disposed on a ceiling of said storage station, for traveling in said storage station in the longitudinal or traverse direction of the vessel and for conveying an aggregated cargo consisting of one or more cargo units in a state wrapped or bound by a flexible sheet member in the storage station, in which said apparatus comprises:

• an auxiliary carriage member detachably mounted in one part of said flexible sheet member, said auxiliary carriage member comprising means for engaging with a hook of said overhead traveling crane;
• a traverse conveying track, disposed in said storage station and extending in a traverse direction of said vessel, for conveying said aggregated cargo, said aggregated cargo being suspended from said traverse conveying track via said auxiliary carriage member;
• a vertical conveying track having a lower end which is disposed beneath said deck and extends into said storage station, said vertical conveying track being adjacent to a leading end of said traverse conveying track, said vertical conveying track also having an upper end extending up to the deck of the vessel, for receiving said aggregated cargo from said traverse conveying track, said aggregated cargo being suspended by said vertical conveying track with said auxiliary carriage member, said vertical conveying track lifting said aggregated cargo to the deck of the vessel;
• and
• a waiting station provided below said deck and adjacent to said traverse conveying track for receiving the auxiliary carriage member from said overhead traveling crane.