Cargo Transfer from Offshore Supply Vessels to Large Deck Vessels

The Sea Base concept requires innovative means of transferring cargo between ships offshore. Of particular interest is the transfer of cargo to large deck vessels and vessels with overhanging decks. The proposal presents an innovative approach to transferring cargo using autonomous watercraft, automated materiel handling equipment, and automated launch and recovery equipment. The system relies on an overarching control system to integrate the major subsystems and state-of-the-art robotic control concepts provide coordination and stable operation. BENEFITS: The system has non-military applications in the offshore oil industry where it could be used to ferry supplies to and between offshore oil platforms autonomously, a function now performed only by manned vessels. The system could also be used to transfer materiel in and out of ports too shallow to accommodate conventional cargo ships and service ports with primitive materiel handling equipment that cannot unload a cargo ship in a timely manner. Ports with low volume but regular demand would stand to benefit the most. Emergency response and disaster relief agencies might use the system to deliver medical supplies to stricken coastal areas. In the case of the recent tsunami disaster, where most if not all ports were compromised and not safe to enter, emergency supplies could have been transferred from ships offshore directly to the beach zone.