Shiploader - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A Shiploader is a huge machine used for loading bulk solid materials

Bulk cargo

Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. This cargo is usually dropped or poured, with a spout or shovel bucket, as a liquid or as a mass of relatively small solids , into a bulk carrier ship's hold, railroad car, or tanker truck/trailer/semi-trailer body...

like iron ore, coal, fertilizers, grains into marine vessels

Ship

Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...

for transportation by sea

Ship transport

Ship transport is watercraft carrying people or goods . Sea transport has been the largest carrier of freight throughout recorded history. Although the importance of sea travel for passengers has decreased due to aviation, it is effective for short trips and pleasure cruises...

. Shiploaders are a very common sight in port

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

s and jetties

Jetty

A jetty is any of a variety of structures used in river, dock, and maritime works that are generally carried out in pairs from river banks, or in continuation of river channels at their outlets into deep water; or out into docks, and outside their entrances; or for forming basins along the...

from where bulk materials are exported.

It mainly consist of an extendable arm or boom

Crane (machine)

A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...

, a belt conveyor and a mobile structure to support the boom. It is usually mounted on rails and sometimes on tyres and can move in order to be able to reach the whole length of the ship. The boom also can move front and back, up and down by separate drives so that it can fill all the corners of the ship holds.

Shiploaders are built in capacities from 1000 to 15000 TPH (tonnes per hour). The height of a shiploader can be in excess of 20 meters and the boom can extend to a length of more than 60 meters.

A Mobile High Angle Shiploader can be found in the Port of Adelaide, Australia. The mobile sandwich belt "Snake" is carried on a tripod of twin motorized rubber tires. Each set of twin tires is mounted at a vertical kingpin and can rotate 360 degrees about that vertical axis. Thus, without repositioning, it can set up to travel in any direction. With the tail tires fixed, the front tires can be oriented and traveled for a slewing motion. Australia's first Snake Ship loader elevates a variety of high value ores from trucks to ship at an angle of 50 degrees. Materials for export are trucked to the dock and dumped onto a special trap loader type feeder. The ore is fed continuously and uniformly onto the mobile snake's receiving chute. The snake ship loader elevates the bulk over the ship's deck to the hatch where it is discharged into the ship's hold. At the discharge, a special telescoping chute, with rotating, pivoting spoon, facilitates even and complete filling of the holds.

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