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.
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.
SYSTEM COMPONENTS
Modular by design
Four engineered subsystems make the Barge Carrier System work as one ocean-going transshipment hub.
370 to 410 m length, configured for 4, 6, or 8 satellites depending on route and cargo profile.
Floating modules accommodating containers, RoRo, or bulk. Loaded and unloaded by float on, float off under their own buoyancy.
Forward and aft hull sections engineered for hydrodynamic efficiency at sustained ocean speeds.
Aft-mounted propulsion package engineered for long-haul transit and submersible operation during satellite loading.
CAPACITY
Scaled for Panama Canal-class routes
Mother ship plus eight satellite barges on a single route.
Configured for Panama Canal-class transit and open-ocean speeds.
Configurable as 4, 6, or 8 satellites depending on cargo profile.
The Seahorse system in motion
Seahorse applies the float on, float off principle to transpacific container trade. A semi-submersible mother ship carries six short-sea vessels of 2,250 TEU each, 13,500 TEU in total, and floats them off offshore so they can sail into smaller, uncongested ports closer to the cargo.
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.
Barge Carrier Systems, in brief
What shipping lines and port planners ask about float on, float off transshipment.
The mother ship submerges sections of its hull. Floating satellite barges then swim in or out under their own buoyancy, so cargo is transferred without dockside cranes, a container yard or a dredged berth.
Up to 30,000 TEU per voyage, with a 370 to 410 metre mother ship carrying eight satellite barges.
Containers, RoRo or bulk. Each barge is a floating module that is loaded and unloaded under its own buoyancy.
Panama Canal-class routes and high-volume ULCV feeder routes. The mother ship is configured for 4, 6 or 8 satellites depending on the route and cargo profile.
Yes. The system is engineered with SSPA, Sweden's hydrodynamic research institute, and the hull geometry is validated through SSPA tank testing for the open-ocean duty cycle.
NEXT STEP
Discuss your transshipment route
We work with shipping lines and port authorities evaluating Panama Canal-class capacity.
First conversations are confidential.