Abstract: In the typical embodiment of the invention described in the specification, a prismatic semi-membrane LNG tank is assembled within a support carriage surrounding the top and side walls of the tank and is connected to the tank by a plurality of load bearing insulating support blocks affixed to T-shaped beams on the tank and received in channel shaped members on the support carriage. The tank is assembled within the carriage which is slidably received within a temporary supporting structure and, when the tank has been completed, the integrated carriage and the tank are transferred to the hull of a ship or other permanent support structure. A pipe tower within the tank is affixed to the bottom wall of the tank and slidably connected to a tank dome at the top of the tank which is welded to the top wall of the tank. Stop members limit downward motion of the tank tower with respect to the top wall of the tank.

Abstract: In the typical embodiment of the invention described in the specification, a prismatic semi-membrane LNG tank is assembled within a support carriage surrounding the top and side walls of the tank and is connected to the tank by a plurality of load bearing insulating support blocks affixed to T-shaped beams on the tank and received in channel shaped members on the support carriage. The tank is assembled within the carriage which is slidably received within a temporary supporting structure and, when the tank has been completed, the integrated carriage and the tank are transferred to the hull of a ship or other permanent support structure. A pipe tower within the tank is affixed to the bottom wall of the tank and slidably connected to a tank dome at the top of the tank which is welded to the top wall of the tank. Stop members limit downward motion of the tank tower with respect to the top wall of the tank.

Abstract: Liquid cargo tank and support system suitable for liquified natural gas, LNG, for LNG cargo ships includes a semi-membrane tank having vertical walls constructed of a series of curved plates and a girder support system that permits access to the tank exterior.

Abstract: Outflow of oil from a damaged tanker having some tanks dedicated for carriage of oil and others for sea water ballast is minimized by transferring oil out of the upper part of any damaged tank to one or more empty ballast tanks. This is accomplished by installing a passageway in bulkheads common to a cargo tank and a ballast tank which is normally closed by a one-shot valve including an annular flange secured to one end of a section of pipe, a blank flange secured to said one end of said pipe by a short, thin, cylindrical sealing ring and a hydraulic hose compressed between the flanges which, when pressurized, ruptures the sealing ring to release the blank flange and open the passageway to allow oil to flow from the damaged cargo tank to a ballast tank.

Abstract: A valve structure for connecting an oil tank to a ballast tank separated by a bulkhead includes a butterfly valve bolted to a short section of flanged pipe which is welded or bolted to the bulkhead separating the two tanks in combination with a rupturable disk fitted within the pipe section and capable of withstanding the maximum pressure of either a full ballast tank or a full cargo tank. A cutting edge is secured to the rotatable disk of the butterfly valve which, upon opening of the butterfly valve, slices the disk sufficiently to assure its collapse and failure by liquid flowing through the opened butterfly valve.

Abstract: Outflow of oil from a damaged tanker having some tanks dedicated for carriage of oil and others for sea water ballast is minimized by transferring oil out of the upper part of any damaged tank to one or more empty ballast tanks. This is accomplished by installing a passageway in bulkheads common to a cargo tank and a ballast tank which is normally closed by at least a one-shot valve including a blank flange bolted to a section of pipe and a hydraulic hose compressed by the flange which, when pressurized, breaks the bolts to release the flange and open the passageway to allow oil to flow from the damaged cargo tank to a ballast tank.

Abstract: The parallel midbody for the hull of a tanker is fabricated of modules, each made of double-walled longitudinal subassemblies welded to one another and to a bulkhead. The subassemblies are made of outer cylindrically curved plates welded edge to edge, and inner cylindrically curved plates welded edge to edge. Longitudinal rib plates are extended between and are welded into joints between curved plates in the inner and outer hulls. The curved plates are convex towards the exterior of the vessel. At respective transitions between the bottom and sides, the inner and outer hulls have bilge radii which approximate in size the radii of curvature of others of the plates including ones both adjacent to and remote from the bottom-to-side transitions. A fixture for facilitating welding of the T-joints of the subassemblies is provided. The subassemblies and modules are fabricated in an up-ended orientation.

Abstract: Outflow of oil from a damaged tanker of "segregated ballast" type having some tanks dedicated for carriage of oil and others for water ballast is minimized by transferring oil out of the upper part of any damaged tank and minimizing the reduction of draft at the damaged area. This is accomplished by installing sluice valves and piping to connect each cargo tank to one or more ballast tanks and providing controls therefor which, in case there is leakage from a cargo tank, are operative to open appropriate valves to allow oil to flow from the upper part of the damaged cargo tank to one or more ballast tanks, which would be empty.

Abstract: The hull and bulkheads of vessels are constructed from a plurality of rectangular, in plan, curved steel plates. The plates are rolled to a slight arc of a circle the axis of which is parallel to the longer dimension of the plates. The plates have a mid-plate recurve to which are welded girders with the recurved portion parallel to the long side edges of the plates. The plates on the shell of the ship are arranged with their long edges longitudinal. The long edges of adjacent plates are joined by butt welding as are the shorter edges. Preferably the plates have widths of 4 to 20 feet and radius of curvature of 20 to 100 feet.

Abstract: In pumping LNG (liquefied natural gas) from one receiver to another, e.g. from a vessel's tank to a shore installation, it is conventional to use a submerged pump, a riser pipe connecting the pump to a stop valve and flexible joint connecting the stop valve to a header. If a pocket of gaseous LNG is present in the riser pipe, when the pump commences its operation, the advancing column of liquid in the riser pipe slams against the stop valve and may damage it. The invention provides the improvement of a removable or bypassable flow restrictor incorporated between the pump and the riser pipe, permitting to ensure that the riser pipe is completely liquid-filled, before the pump commences to operate.

Abstract: Conventional installations for pumping of liquid LNG (liquefied natural gas) from a sealed tank of a marine vessel to a shore installation commonly include a pump immersed in the liquid, a riser pipe from the pump to a level above the liquid, a stop valve on the riser pipe outside the tank, and a connection to the header leading to the shore installation. With the stop valve closed, operation of the pump can cause slamming of the liquid, accelerating up the riser pipe, against the stop valve, to the extent that the valve or piping may be damaged or destroyed. The invention provides a method of operation, and apparatus to permit it to be carried out, whereby a pocket of non-liquefiable gas is formed in the riser pipe above the liquid level so that, upon operation of the pump with the stop valve closed, although LNG vapor in the riser pipe may become compressed to liquid, the pocket of gas remains to act as a compressible buffer between the rising liquid and the stop valve.