A lighter is a type of flat-bottomed barge used to transfer goods and passengers to and from moored ships. Lighters were traditionally unpowered and were moved and steered using long oars called "sweeps" and the motive power of water currents. They were operated by skilled workers called lightermen and were a characteristic sight in London's docks until about the 1960s, when technological changes made this form of lightering largely redundant. Unpowered lighters continue to be moved by powered tugs, however, and lighters may also now themselves be powered. The term is also used in the Lighter Aboard Ship (LASH) system.
The name itself is of uncertain origin, but is believed to possibly derive from an old Dutch or German word, lichten (to lighten or unload). In Dutch, the word lichter is still used for smaller ships that take over goods from larger ships.
Lighters, albeit powered ones, were proposed to be used in 2007 at Port Lincoln and Whyalla in South Australia to load Capesize ships which are too big for the shallower waters close to shore.[1][2]
Hong Kong widely uses lighters in midstream operations where lighters transport cargo, mostly containers, between oceangoing vessels or to and from terminals. Lighters in Hong Kong are usually equipped with cranes of 40-60 tonnes capacity, and the largest ones can carry up to 300 TEU containers (empties). Lighters are usually not fitted with engines but are towed or pushed by tugboats. In 2007, midstream operators handled about 2 million TEUs and 5 million TEUs were transported as river trade cargo which are heavily dependent on lighters.
In the UK, some older lighters have been converted into houseboats (for living on the river). As they lack engine rooms and gearbox, shaft or propellers, this means maximum usage of the hull space into housespace. As they have no propulsion methods, they are towed from conversion sites to permanent or semi-permanent mooring sites. They have macerators to deal with toilet waste.[3][4]
The lighter barge gave rise to the "lighter tug", a small, manoeuvrable type of harbour tug. Lighter tugs—or simply "lighters"—are designed for towing lighter barges. As such, they are smaller than traditional harbour tugs and lack the power or equipment to handle large ships.
Galleryedit
A lighter carrying shipping containers (loaded and unloaded by the tall derrick-crane on the lighter's top-deck) in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour.
A US Army LACV-30 (Lighter Air Cushion Vehicle - 30 Ton) hovercraft transporting ground-support military equipment to the shore in 1986.
A lighter for mechanized equipment designed by A. J. Higgins in 1941
USN Ash Lighter (YA-13) photographed in 1941
Several lighters beside a cargo ship's side somewhere off Java in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia), about 1925.
lighter, barge, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, lighter, barge, news, newspapers, books, scholar, js. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Lighter barge news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message A lighter is a type of flat bottomed barge used to transfer goods and passengers to and from moored ships Lighters were traditionally unpowered and were moved and steered using long oars called sweeps and the motive power of water currents They were operated by skilled workers called lightermen and were a characteristic sight in London s docks until about the 1960s when technological changes made this form of lightering largely redundant Unpowered lighters continue to be moved by powered tugs however and lighters may also now themselves be powered The term is also used in the Lighter Aboard Ship LASH system The name itself is of uncertain origin but is believed to possibly derive from an old Dutch or German word lichten to lighten or unload In Dutch the word lichter is still used for smaller ships that take over goods from larger ships Lighters albeit powered ones were proposed to be used in 2007 at Port Lincoln and Whyalla in South Australia to load Capesize ships which are too big for the shallower waters close to shore 1 2 Hong Kong widely uses lighters in midstream operations where lighters transport cargo mostly containers between oceangoing vessels or to and from terminals Lighters in Hong Kong are usually equipped with cranes of 40 60 tonnes capacity and the largest ones can carry up to 300 TEU containers empties Lighters are usually not fitted with engines but are towed or pushed by tugboats In 2007 midstream operators handled about 2 million TEUs and 5 million TEUs were transported as river trade cargo which are heavily dependent on lighters In the UK some older lighters have been converted into houseboats for living on the river As they lack engine rooms and gearbox shaft or propellers this means maximum usage of the hull space into housespace As they have no propulsion methods they are towed from conversion sites to permanent or semi permanent mooring sites They have macerators to deal with toilet waste 3 4 Contents 1 Lighter tug 2 Gallery 3 See also 4 ReferencesLighter tug editThe lighter barge gave rise to the lighter tug a small manoeuvrable type of harbour tug Lighter tugs or simply lighters are designed for towing lighter barges As such they are smaller than traditional harbour tugs and lack the power or equipment to handle large ships Gallery edit nbsp A lighter carrying shipping containers loaded and unloaded by the tall derrick crane on the lighter s top deck in Hong Kong s Victoria Harbour nbsp A US Army LACV 30 Lighter Air Cushion Vehicle 30 Ton hovercraft transporting ground support military equipment to the shore in 1986 nbsp A lighter for mechanized equipment designed by A J Higgins in 1941 nbsp USN Ash Lighter YA 13 photographed in 1941 nbsp Several lighters beside a cargo ship s side somewhere off Java in the Dutch East Indies present day Indonesia about 1925 See also editCar float Dutch barge Type B shipReferences edit Onesteel says no to barge sharing Australian Mining www miningaustralia com au December 27 2007 Retrieved 2010 06 17 Geoscience Australia Iron Ore AIMR 2008 Preliminary Australian Mines Atlas www australianminesatlas gov au Archived from the original on 2009 10 25 Retrieved 2010 06 17 Houseboat Thames Lighter Barge 26m 1910 Boats and Outboards www boatsandoutboards co uk Retrieved 3 September 2022 Houseboat Thames Lighter Barge For Sale 27 43m 1960 boatshed com Retrieved 3 September 2022 This merchant ship article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lighter barge amp oldid 1134176531, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
