Yokohama pneumatic rubber fenders

The pneumatic fender is also known as the Yokohama fender. Tankers’ Ship-to-ship (STS) operations mostly uses this type of self-floating, long useful life fender. Industry-wide known as pneumatic fenders, but why are they also called Yokohama fenders?

Yokohama was the first company to design such fenders. Hence the name. The traditional method is to find and use dead whales as large fenders for bigger ships. After the World-War II, many turned to find a better, more constant man-made equipment since the usage of dead whales has many downsides to it. Rubber was thought to be a excellent material.

So being the most trusted rubber tire manufacture in Japan at the time, the ‘Yokohama’ company was approached to design up a suitable solution. The first big issue was that making a fender straight-up using rubber would be too costly. Projected costs make it impossible to achieve. The company managed to eventually come up with the idea of using the principles of pneumatic. Pressurised air absorbs energy well enough with a reasonable reaction force. Now, commonly the working pressures of pneumatic fenders use are 50 kPa and 80kPa.

The story of the origin of these fenders is indeed a very interesting development of the industry. Today, these awesome low-cost, low-maintenance fenders are governed by ISO Standard. ISO 17357 consists of the two parts, high pressure and low pressure. Under the general title Ships and marine technology — Floating pneumatic rubber fenders. ISO17357:2014 is the latest version of the standard. It specifies the material, performance, and dimensions of floating pneumatic rubber fenders. Our company's pneumatic fenders are also produced and tested strictly in accordance with ISO17357:2014 standards.

Now the property of pneumatic fenders are low reaction force at low deflection, which made them are the most suitable fender for liquid cargo vessels and defense vessels with sensitive equipment, it also has become an ideal ship protection medium used extensively by large tankers, LPG vessels, ocean platforms, etc.

Structure pneumatic rubber ship bumper fender

1. Outer Rubber

Cover outside on the ball of rubber layer, which is used to protect skeleton material and inner rubber ball from damage of external force, the main features: high strength, wear resistance, ageing resistance and tear resistance.

2. Synthetic cord reinforced rubber layer

Reinforced cord rubber layer is composed of winding Synthetic cord layer, It is mainly used for maintain the internal air pressure, which has good elasticity, no deformation and high power etc.

3. Inner Rubber

On the ball inside the rubber layer, which is used to prevent air leakage and control the ball pressure.

4. Flange opening

The metal parts at both ends of fender, which can be fitted with charging valve and safety valve.

Features:

High energy absorption with a low reaction force
2. Light weight, portable and floatable, can be installed and replaced easily
3. Heavy duty and long service life-over 10 years
4. Supplied as sling type (body only) or with chain and tire net
for protection of the fender body
5. Suitable for locations with large and small tidal differences

Applications

1. Offshore platform

2. Oil and gas tankers

3. Fast ferries and aluminium vessels

4. Temporary and permanent installations

5. Rapid response and emergencies

6. In ports with extreme tidal variations

7. Fishing vessel, transport ship and ocean trawler

Heavy duty protection netting:

– Heavy duty protection netting with standard use of airplane/truck tires (Airplane tires are more rigid and have no steel inside). This will have a positive effect on the lifespan of both netting and fender (proven in practice).

– Use of head tires to protect the fender against damages by the towing rings.

– Towing rings, chain, shackles and swivels are random tested on break load.

– Hoses around the chain are going into the tires to prevent the chain cutting the tires.

– All chains are connected with certified connecting links and/or shackles.

– Towing rings, shackles and swivels (mounted on both sides)

– Heavy duty protection netting is approved by all major STS companies.

Our factory:

Our company specializes in the production of marine rubber fenders and dredging pipelines for 30 years, and has rich experience in international trade of marine engineering products. We have a number of production lines for rubber fenders and dredging hoses. A comprehensive range of mold, production equipment and testing equipment can perfectly meet the requirements of our customers.

Our products sell well in North and South America and are recognized by many top companies. We have stable cooperation with a number of international listed companies and have witnessed the prosperity of fender and hose markets in North and South America. We have a team of professionals in North and South America who are familiar with the needs of our customers and can respond to any needs of our customers 24 hours a day.

Factory established in 1992, Qingdao Florescence Marine Supply Co., Ltd (Subsidiary of Qingdao Florescence Co., Ltd) specializes in manufacturing pneumatic rubber fenders, foam fenders, various ship dock rubber fenders, and ship launching & salvage rubber airbags.

FLORESCENCE products are designed, manufactured, and tested by per ISO 9001:2015 requirements. And every unit is robustly built to the stringent requirements of ship surveyors such as CCS, BV, RS, ABS, LR, etc.

We are the supplier of many navy, such as Bangladesh Navy, France Navy, Greece Navy, Thailand Navy, Italy Navy, Philippines Navy, etc.

FLORESCENCE considers our clients as a part of the team, treating them as partners. We are always together with them on each step of the way, from finding the solutions of fender using and ship launching to the manufacturing and installation operations on site. Our rich experience has earned us a reputation as a dependable partner in many ports and shipyards around the world.