Transport a barge in a container ? Is it reasonable ?

[philgib]

All my project is based on the fact that I can just put the steel barge in a container and export it worldwide. Is this reasonable to have an 8 tons steel barge inside a container ?

Have you had bad experiences ?

Thank you

[Stumble]

So long as the external dimmensions of the barge fit inside a container I doubt it would be a problem. The max weight of a standard container is 35,000lbs for a 20' container or 45,000lbs for a 40' so your 16,000lbs barge isn't an issue.

[philgib]

Thank you Stumble,

Do you think I should build the barge only a quarter of an inch under the container inside dimensions so that it can hardly move with the cargo boat swell, or should I go one good inch under the dimensions and slide something between the barge and the container inside wall ?

Are 99% of available standard containers in a pretty good shape or are they always uneven and dimensions are approximate ? As you can see I have zero experience in container shipping.

[Stumble]

Assuming the container is an ISO standards certified container, which most are, they will met the minimum/max dimensions of the standard. But if you are building a barge this close to the dimensions have you thought about just building the barge to the ISO specs so that is could be its own container? This would allow you to move it easily by most transport methods as well as allow for maximum dimensions under the ISO requirements.

I am not sure what the exact design parameters would be, but a quick check on google for ISO standards should give you this information.

[philgib]

You are absoluteley right Stumble, actually some deck barge are doing exactly what you are saying, i.e. barges are containers by themselves and are handled as such.

Here are an example :
http://www.hann-ocean.com/solutions/containerized-pontoon-system.html

My barges will have acrylic windows on sides, so quite fragile, so I prefer to have the container wall acting like a buffer between an potential hit and
the barge.

Thank you

[Stumble]

I certainly can see the desire to protect the windows, but it may be possible to use recessed plexiglass with some sort of metal cover to protect them during shipping. This would allow you the best of both worlds in that you could have the largest barge possible to move under normal freight requirements, protected windows, and reduce shipping expenses by not having to get a container.

The other thing that just hit me is how are you going to get this barge into a normal container? I know there are some open topped ones that would allow you to load it with a crane, but I think these are more expensive to ship than a standard one, as well as not protecting the barge from the elements very well. Trying to fit a max dimension barge into a container could really be a pain. So you may need to design around this problem as well.

[Alve]

Hi phigib and Stumble,
I am building barges, speedboats and houseboats that can be transformed into containers and transported as such. You do not need to put the boat into a standard container since the boat it self has corner fittings and can be registered as standardised containers. I own the patent for the way the boats/pontoons are transformed into containers. I can construct and build to customers specification.
Check out:
www.rivertrotter.com
www.seatrotter.com
www.containerandboat.com (this address only in Swedish but you can check the images at “Båtmodeller”.)
Cheers,
Alve