Marine Air Bag with Superior Buoyancy Wear Resistant Heavy Load Support for Ship Launching

Marine Air Bag is a high-strength inflatable rubber system developed for ship launching, vessel transfer, and marine heavy-load support operations. It is manufactured using multi-layer synthetic tire cord reinforcement combined with high-performance vulcanized rubber, forming a cylindrical elastic structure capable of sustaining extreme compressive and dynamic rolling forces during shipyard operations.

The system is engineered to operate under controlled high-pressure conditions, typically ranging from 0.16 MPa to 0.28 MPa depending on vessel weight and structural configuration. This allows stable support of medium to large vessels during launching and landing operations while maintaining controlled deformation behavior.

Marine Air Bags function through a rolling-contact mechanism that replaces rigid slipway friction with elastic rolling motion. This significantly reduces hull stress concentration and minimizes coating damage during vessel movement. The system also improves operational precision by allowing gradual and controlled water entry.

The outer rubber layer is designed with industrial-grade wear-resistant compounds, providing resistance to seawater corrosion, oil exposure, UV radiation, and mechanical abrasion. The internal reinforcement layers ensure structural integrity under repeated cyclic loading conditions.

This system is widely used as a flexible alternative to fixed dry dock infrastructure, enabling shipyards to operate in cost-limited or infrastructure-limited environments while maintaining high efficiency and safety standards.

A South American river shipyard was tasked with launching a 2,200 DWT river cargo vessel intended for inland waterway transportation. The facility was located in a constrained geographic environment with soft soil foundation and no permanent slipway infrastructure, making traditional launching methods unsafe and unstable.

Hongruntong Marine provided a customized Marine Air Bag system with 1.2m diameter and 8-layer reinforcement structure optimized for soft ground load distribution. A total of 14 airbags were deployed under the vessel using a reinforced wooden support framework to stabilize initial positioning.

During the launching process, the vessel was gradually transferred toward water using controlled rolling movement. The system successfully compensated for uneven ground pressure by dynamically distributing load across multiple airbags, preventing localized sinking or structural imbalance.

The launch was completed within 52 minutes without hull deformation or instability. The client reported a 48 percent reduction in total operational cost compared to crane-assisted launching methods and confirmed improved safety performance under soft soil conditions. The system was later adopted for all inland vessel production operations.

* Other size can be provided follow client's requirements.

• Inland Waterway Vessel Launching: Marine Air Bags are widely used for river and inland cargo vessel launching where traditional slipway infrastructure is unavailable or impractical.
• Soft Soil Shipyard Operations: The system is suitable for shipyards built on weak or unstable soil foundations requiring adaptive load distribution technology.
• Cost Optimized Ship Launching Projects: Marine Air Bags provide a cost-effective alternative to crane or dry dock systems in low-budget shipyard environments.

• Specialized Engineering for Complex Ground Conditions: Hongruntong Marine provides tailored engineering solutions for shipyards operating on soft soil, riverbanks, and unstable terrain conditions.
• Advanced Load Distribution Technology: The system is designed with optimized structural modeling to ensure safe and stable performance under uneven pressure environments.
• Consistent Manufacturing Quality Control: All products are produced under strict industrial standards with full inspection of pressure resistance and structural integrity.
• Global Application Experience: Hongruntong Marine systems have been successfully deployed in inland, coastal, and offshore environments across multiple international markets.