Agregates Wharf - Langstone Harbour

PeterD-2009PeterD-2009 Registered Users Posts: 618 Major grins
edited February 26, 2010 in Landscapes
This facility lies at the north east of Langstone Harbour, between two streams Hermitage and another?). It is one of two such facilities in the harbour, supplied by coastal ships with different types of ballast material for roads, housing etc.
Shipping can only access the facilities at high tide as the 90% of the harbour is mud at low tide. Unloading times are therefore critical and this sequence of images demonstrates how it is achieved.

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The Hermitage Stream is to the left and the minor stream is to the right. This image was taken close to high tide. Langstone Harbour is behind the camera. The dumper truck seen here is transferring a recent load to the hopper immediately in front of it. From the hopper, the material is carried by belt up the gantry and deposited in the correct stock pile.

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The Coaster has arrived and the crew are busy transferring the material from the hold to the hardstanding on the wharfside.
The large red-brown superstructure you see here is actually on the ship and is the means of achieving a fast transfer. A large mechanical scoop, the width of the hold, plunges into the hold and transfers its load to a hopper at the rear of this structure. The hopper discharges its load onto the moving belt on the boom which deposits the mareial onto the wharf. All this is contained on the ship as components of the red-brown structure.

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A view of the other side of the ship during unloading. Taken from the Hermitage Stream.

This process takes place day and night and the following images are all taken hand-held (thanks to IS!). Lighting is always a problem with this type of shooting because of the different temperatures of the arc lamps used. I believe I have captured this correctly.

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Hope you like the images. C&C welcome as feedback helps me to improve.
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