Pneumatic floating submarine fenders
Fendercare Marine provides Yokohama pneumatic submarine fenders, which are used extensively by navies across the world.
Fendercare Marine has supplied Yokohama submarine fenders to many navies around the world, including those of Australia, Brazil, Canada, Greece, Japan, the United Kingdom and the USA. The Yokohama submarine fender was launched in 1984 and since then has been extensively used by navies across the world.
Advantages of fenders over alternative, traditional berthing methods include:
- Cost effective replacement for deep water catamarans
- Easily moved to provide flexibility in berthing
- Easily transported to provide emergency berthing facilities
- Maintenance requirement almost non-existent
- Unaffected by extreme climatic conditions
Bespoke sub-surface flotation:
Fendercare Marine can also provide bespoke sub-surface flotation for submarines. We were involved in detailed consulting, design and manufacturing for the most complex sets of submersible buoyancy ever produced, for our sister company JFD's deep search and rescue (DSAR) submarine rescue vehicle.
In order to provide full protection at surface and subsurface, Yokohama pneumatic submarine fenders are deployed vertically. To maintain their position, the fenders are water ballasted and also have a counterweight attached to the bottom of the fender. The weight, shape and method of deployment of the counterweight can be adjusted to suit individual situations.
Submarine fenders are designed to offer higher bursting strength than a normal surface fender, with the minimum burst pressures being:
- 2000mm diameter and smaller = 4.9kgf/cm2
- 2500mm diameter and larger = 5.7kgf/cm2
To facilitate water charge and discharge, flange openings are sited at each end of the fender. In addition, submarine fenders are fitted with a safety valve to enable excess pressure to be released should over compression occur.
Floating pneumatic submarine fenders
Submarine fenders are available in the following standard sizes and pressures, offering a fender system to cope with all designs of submarine, from the smallest conventional submarine to the largest nuclear submarine in service today.
Typical dimensions:
| Diameter and length | Initial pressure |
| 2000mm x 6000mm | 0.5kgf/cm2 |
| 2500mm x 5500mm | 0.5kgf/cm2 |
| 2500mm x 9100mm | 0.5kgf/cm2 |
| 3300mm x 6500mm | 0.5kgf/cm2 |
| 3300mm x 10,600mm | 0.5kgf/cm2 |
| 4500mm x 9000mm | 0.8kgf/cm2 |
