Yokohama floating pneumatic fender
Yokohama floating pneumatic fender is widely used for ship-to-ship transfers at mid seas, and as vessel-to-berth at dock/jetties. The unique performance of a pneumatic fender is its low reaction force at low deflection. This feature of pneumatic fenders makes them the most suitable fender for liquid cargo vessels and defense vessels with sensitive equipment.
These fenders have excellent energy absorption characteristics and linear load-deflection characteristics. Pneumatic fenders should comply with the ISO 17357 standard. The pneumatic fender is also called the Yokohama floating pneumatic fender.
Most tankers’Ship-to-ship (STS) operations use this type of self-floating, long-life fender. They are called pneumatic fenders in the industry, but why are they also called Yokohama fenders among many people?
Yokohama was the first company to design this fender. Accordingly, the pneumatic fender has the name.
The traditional way was to find and use dead whales as fenders for large ships. After World-War, many people turned to find better and more stable man-made equipment, because the use of dead whales has many drawbacks.
Rubber was considered great material. Therefore, as the most trusted rubber tire manufacturer in Japan at the time, the ‘Yokohama’ company was required to design up a suitable solution.
The first big problem was that using rubber to straighten the fender would be too expensive. For example, today’s standard fender size is 3.3mx 6.5m. In theory, a rubber material of> 70m is required. The estimated cost made it impossible. The company finally came up with the idea of using pneumatic principles. Compressed air fully absorbs energy with reasonable reaction force.
Yokohama floating pneumatic fender types：
Four types of pneumatic fenders comply with the international standard: Type I (Chain & Tyre Net Type), Type II (Sling Type), Type III (low-pressure Type), and Type IV (hydro Type). It has become an ideal ship protection medium widely used extensively by large tankers, LPG vessels, ocean platforms, etc. The most suitable type will depend on its application and the equipment requirements.
Yokohama floating pneumatic fender advantages：
1. Advantages during inclined berthing
2. Stronger against the shearing force
3. Relatively safe even during excess load
4. Advantages during crucial weather conditions
5. Deterioration in performance minimized
6. Tide adaptation
7. Simple installation and low maintenance cost
The use of floating pneumatic rubber fender:
Pneumatic rubber fender has been widely used in oil tankers, container ships, yachts, offshore platforms, large docks, military ports, large piers, etc. The chains are galvanized for greater corrosion resistance and covered by rubber sleeves to prevent abrasive damage to the outer rubber. The horizontal chains are fastened at each end to a ring shackle.