DONALD P ROSEMAN
Engineering in Rockville, MD

5582124, Dec 10, 1996

Jul 26, 1995

8/506751

Jerome P. Sikora - Rockville MD
Donald P. Roseman - Rockville MD
Robert W. Michaelson - Annapolis MD

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy - Washington DC

B63B 306

114 74A

The invention is directed to a hybrid framing system for providing transverse structural support to and a predetermined cargo compartment arrangement for a bulk cargo carrier vessel of the type having a longitudinal midsection for locating cargo compartments. The system includes a hull bottom and port and starboard side walls depending from the hull bottom and defining the vessel midsection, a plurality of liquid-tight transverse bulkheads attached to the bottom and side walls and defining a series of adjoining cargo compartments in the vessel midsection, and a plurality of non-liquid-tight transverse web frames, at least one of the web frames positioned between successive ones of the transverse bulkheads. The bottom and side walls each including an inner hull shell, an outer hull shell, and a plurality of longitudinal support members therebetween. A sequence of transverse support member groupings is formed for providing structural support to the vessel midsection, wherein each of the groupings includes individual support members comprising at least one of the plurality of transverse bulkheads and at least one of the plurality of transverse web frames.