The Australian Maritime College in Tasmaniasays the new design could reduce the need for feeder vessels and dredging worksin ports.
The FHT would act as an “offshore warehouse”to speed up bulker ore loadings, for example.
The university is working with SeaTransport Corporation (STC) to refine and test the FHT concept, the first ofits kind in the world.
The three-year project has received an AUD 420,000($573,000) grant from the government and STC
One of the researchers, Nick Johnson, said:“Traditionally, the transfer of bulk ore cargo takes place over a couple ofweeks, with the feeder vessels running back and forth between a small port andthe moored export vessel.
“The
