BARGE CARRIER SYSTEMS

Float On, Float Off. 30,000 TEU per route.

A 370 to 410 metre mother ship carrying up to eight floating satellite barges. Engineered for Panama Canal transshipment and high-volume ULCV feeder routes.

We typically reply within 24 hours.

THE CONCEPT

Transshipment without the dock

Conventional transshipment relies on dockside cranes, container yards, and dredged berths. Barge Carrier Systems replace the dock entirely. A mother ship submerges sections of its hull, allowing floating satellite barges to swim in or out under their own buoyancy.

The system is engineered in collaboration with SSPA, Sweden's hydrodynamic research institute. Operating speeds and stability are validated for open-ocean Panama Canal-class routes.

Submersible barge transport vessel preliminary general arrangement: midship section, side profile and plan with six barge bays

SYSTEM COMPONENTS

Modular by design

Four engineered subsystems make the Barge Carrier System work as one ocean-going transshipment hub.

Mother ship illustration in side view, a long magenta hull with superstructures fore and aft
Mother ship

370 to 410 m length, configured for 4, 6, or 8 satellites depending on route and cargo profile.

Mother ship arrangement drawing: side profile with docking deck and LNG tanks, plan view with six satellites in pairs
Satellite barges

Floating modules accommodating containers, RoRo, or bulk. Loaded and unloaded by float on, float off under their own buoyancy.

Mother ship cross-section drawings, without satellites at the LNG tanks and with container and Ro-Ro satellites mid ship
Hull design

Forward and aft hull sections engineered for hydrodynamic efficiency at sustained ocean speeds.

Propulsion

Aft-mounted propulsion package engineered for long-haul transit and submersible operation during satellite loading.

CAPACITY

Scaled for Panama Canal-class routes

30K+ TEU
Per voyage

Mother ship plus eight satellite barges on a single route.

410 m
Maximum hull length

Configured for Panama Canal-class transit and open-ocean speeds.

8
Satellite barges per mother ship

Configurable as 4, 6, or 8 satellites depending on cargo profile.

HULL ENGINEERING

Forward and aft sections optimised for speed and stability

The mother ship hull is engineered in distinct forward and aft sections. The bow is shaped for ocean transit at sustained speed. The aft section houses propulsion and the submersible bay for satellite loading.

Hull geometry is validated through SSPA tank testing, with operating speeds and stability confirmed for the open-ocean Panama Canal-class duty cycle the system was designed to run.

NEXT STEP

Discuss your transshipment route

We work with shipping lines and port authorities evaluating Panama Canal-class capacity.

First conversations are confidential.