Barge-Carrying Ships:
A variation of the container ship is the barge-carrying ship, where instead of carrying containers the ship carries loaded barges (floating containers). Although the ships themselves are more expensive than a container ship, they do not need a purpose-built terminal, though in some cases this has been provided. In fact, in theory they do not need a port. They can simply come to an anchorage, discharge their barges, which are towed away by a waiting tug, and load the barges assembled ready. For countries like the USA, with a large inland waterway network, this might seem to be an attractive proposition, but expensive ships need expensive high-freight cargoes. The original idea was as a military support vessel for marines, which could have been the reason why in their heyday they were favoured by the USA and what was then the USSR. They seemed to have reached their peak of popularity around 1983 when Lloyd’s Register listed 35 lighter carriers, but since then there seem to have been few new buildings, though in 1994 Lloyd’s List did report a contract for converting a heavy-lift vessel to a LASH-type carrier. They are an interesting idea and their main types are among some of the most spectacular ships to observe while loading cargo.
Main types:
• LASH (Lighter Aboard Ship).
In this, the most popular of all the types, the barges are loaded and discharged through the ‘prongs’ at the stern by the ship’s own 510 ton gantry crane. The ship can carry just over 80 barges, each capable of holding 400 tons of cargo. The first LASH ship, the MV Arcadia Forest, came into service in 1970, operating between the US Gulf and London and Rotterdam. In 1975 FLASH was introduced. This was a large towed unit which acted as a feeder unit for LASH. In 1978 an 11,000dwt float-on barge carrier came into service known as SPLASH. In 2002 there were only two LASH vessels left in service.
• Seabees. The first one of this type, the MV Doctor Lykes, came into service in 1972. This vessel carried 38 1,000 ton barges which it lifted, two at a time, using huge powerful elevators at the stern. However, in 1985 the three vessels were retired to the US reserve fleet.
• The BACO Liner (Barge and Container). A 21,000dwt ship that can carry 12 barges by floating them in through bow doors which are then closed and the water pumped out. As the name suggests, it can also carry containers of about 500 TEUs. The first started service in 1979 and one is still in service from NW European ports to West Africa.