Split hopper dredge Currituck at Virginia Beach 3

A hopper barge is a kind of non-mechanical ship or vessel that cannot move around by itself, unlike some other types of

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels. ...

s, that is designed to carry materials, like rocks,

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class ...

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...

and rubbish, for dumping into the ocean, a river or lake for land reclamation. slipway at portland

Hopper barges are seen in two distinctive types; raked hopper or box hopper barges. The raked hopper barges move faster than the box hoppers; they are both designed for movement of dry bulky commodities. There are several "hoppers" or compartments between the fore and

aft "Aft", in nautical terminology, is an adjective or adverb meaning towards the stern (rear) of the ship, aircraft or spacecraft, when the frame of reference is within the ship, headed at the fore. For example, "Able Seaman Smith; lie aft!" or "Wh ...

bulkhead of the barge. On the bottom of the barge

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

, there is (are) also a large "hopper door(s)", opening downwards. The doors are closed while the vessel is moving, so she can carry the materials that are to be dumped. The door(s) open when the ship has arrived at the spot where the materials are to be dumped. Split barges serve the same purpose, but instead of a door in the hull's bottom, the hull of the whole barge splits longitudinally between the end bulkheads. The vessel consists of two major parts (

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

and

starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which ar ...

halves), both are mostly symmetrical in design. Both parts of the vessel are

hinged A hinge is a mechanical bearing that connects two solid objects, typically allowing only a limited angle of rotation between them. Two objects connected by an ideal hinge rotate relative to each other about a fixed axis of rotation: all other ...

at the deck and operated by hydraulic cylinders. When the vessel splits the load is dumped rapidly, which means the barge has to be very stable in order not to capsize or otherwise get damaged.

References

{{ModernMerchantShipTypes Barges Ship types