Large Vessel Interface Lift-on/Lift-off (LVI Lo/Lo) crane

*Note, this is a follow on to the "LCS Tender" post. What do we need to make it work? How about something as mundane as a good crane to transfer gear, containers and such at sea in almost any sea state. The Office of Naval Research already has it covered with the LVI Lo/Lo Crane.

via Office of Naval Research...

What Is It?

The LVI Lo/Lo crane is an advanced motion-compensated at-sea cargo transfer system that will be able to transfer fully-loaded cargo containers between ships at sea in Sea State 4 and below by providing six degrees-of-freedom control of the payload without taglines.

How Does It Work?

The system enables the rapid and safe at-sea transfer of standard ISO containers and other heavy loads from military and commercially available ships onto the Sea Base. Capability details include:

• Ability to maintain optimal cargo throughput rates through Sea State 4
• Ability to transfer cargo between two ships directly alongside each other at zero forward speed or underway at slow speed in the open ocean.
• Motion sensing and compensation for the ships and/or the cranes will allow safe and efficient transfer of cargobility to transfer car

What Will It Accomplish?

The LVI Lo/Lo crane is a key technology for enabling the fl ow of joint logistics through the Sea Base. Currently, to off -load a container ship,
it must have a safe deep-water port.  By adding the LVI Lo/Lo crane to the Sea Base, the container ship can be off -loaded at sea, with the containers transferred to other modes of transportation for the final leg to the shore.  This eliminates the need for a secure deep-water port and enables the flow of containerized logistics through the Sea Base to the shore.