ISO14409 Floating Salvage Marine Rubber Airbag Ship Launching
Lifting Airbag
Ship launching airbags, also known as roller bags, launching air
balloons, inflatable marine airbags, air lift bags, and salvage
bags, are specialized marine rubber air bags used for launching
marine vessels, ship landing, or haul-outs. These heavy-duty rubber
airbags are widely used in loading, floating, lifting, and moving
sunken ships, as well as salvaging stranded boats.
Ship launching using marine airbags represents an innovative
ship-launching technology that overcomes the disadvantages of
traditional methods like "end-on launching", "side ship launching",
and "float-out". This flexible technology eliminates restrictions
of fixed launching tracks and is increasingly adopted by shipyards
worldwide due to its advantages in time savings, cost efficiency,
flexibility, and safety.
Our continuous innovation in design, material usage, and
manufacturing technologies ensures the highest levels of
flexibility, safety, and reliability. To date, our ship-launching
rubber airbags have successfully launched cargo vessels, barges,
chemical tankers, tugboats, AHTS vessels, floating docks, and
construction caissons, with the largest vessel launched weighing up
to 100,000DWT.
Launching Air Bags Type and Model
Ship Launching airbags are categorized by bearing capacity per
meter in length, with the number of synthetic-tire-cord layers
determining the Safety Working Pressure:
- QP - Ordinary airbag with 3, 4, or 5 cord fabric layers
- QG - High-bearing capacity airbag with 6, 7, or 8 layers of cord
fabric
- QS - Superhigh-bearing capacity airbag with 9, 10, or more layers of
cord fabrics
Example model: QG6/1.5x15
QG6: 6 layers of cord fabric + 1 rubber layer
1.5: Diameter is 1.5m
15: Effective length is 15m
Structure of Ship Launching Airbags

Rubber airbags are constructed with an outer rubber layer, multiple
synthetic-tire-cord layers, and an inner rubber layer vulcanized
firmly together, with additional layers at the end shoulders for
reinforcement.
Synthetic-tire-cord layer
This reinforcement layer consists of rubber-coated
synthetic-tire-cord fabrics twined at ideal angles using patented
"Holistic Wrapping Technology" to evenly distribute stress and
maintain internal pressure. We use 1400 dtex/2 or 1400 dtex/3 type
synthetic-tire-cord fabric with over 95 cords per 100mm width and
breaking strength exceeding 310N per cord.
Inner and Outer Rubber
Both rubber layers undergo rigorous testing to meet international
standards. The outer layer protects cord layers from abrasion and
environmental factors, featuring compounds with exceptional tensile
and tear strength for harsh conditions.


All Doowin Marine ship launching airbags are manufactured and
tested to fully comply with ISO 14409:2011 (Ships and marine
technology -- Ship launching airbags) and ISO 17682:2013
(Methodology for ship launching utilizing air bags).
| No. | Test Item | Value | Standard |
|---|
| 1 | Tensile Strength, Mpa | ≥18 | ISO 37 |
| 2 | Elongation at break, % | ≥400 | ISO 37 |
| 3 | Hardness, ° (Shore A) | 60±10 | ISO 7619-1 |
| 4 | Tear Strength, N/cm | ≥400 | ISO 34-1 |
| 5 | Compression set, % (70℃±1℃,22h) | ≤30 | ISO 815-1 |
| 6* | Holding of pull lengthening, % | ≥80 | ISO 188 |
| 7* | Holding of elongation at break, % | ≥80 | ISO 188 |
| 8* | Change of hardness, ° (Shore A) | ≤8 | ISO 7619-1 |
| 9 | Static ozone aging at 40℃ x 96h, extension 20% | No crack | ISO 1431-1 |
Ship Launching Airbags Performance Parameters
| Type No. | Diameter (m) | Initial Internal Pressure for Test (kPa) | Rated Working Pressure (kPa) | Bearing Capacity at 70% compress deformation (KN/m) | Minimum Burst Pressure (kPa) |
|---|
| QP5 | 0.8 | 48 | 210 | 184 | 630 |
| 1.0 | 35 | 170 | 186 | 510 |
| 1.2 | 28 | 140 | 185 | 420 |
| 1.5 | 20 | 110 | 181 | 330 |
| 1.8 | 16 | 90 | 178 | 270 |
| 2.0 | 14 | 80 | 176 | 240 |
| QG6 | 0.8 | 56 | 245 | 215 | 740 |
| 1.0 | 45 | 200 | 219 | 600 |
| 1.2 | 32 | 165 | 217 | 490 |
| 1.5 | 25 | 130 | 218 | 390 |
| 1.8 | 20 | 110 | 220 | 330 |
| 2.0 | 18 | 100 | 220 | 300 |
| QG7 | 0.8 | 64 | 270 | 237 | 810 |
| 1.0 | 50 | 220 | 242 | 660 |
| 1.2 | 38 | 190 | 251 | 570 |
| 1.5 | 29 | 150 | 247 | 450 |
| 1.8 | 25 | 130 | 257 | 390 |
| 2.0 | 23 | 120 | 264 | 360 |
| QG8 | 0.8 | 70 | 300 | 264 | 900 |
| 1.0 | 54 | 240 | 264 | 720 |
| 1.2 | 45 | 210 | 277 | 630 |
| 1.5 | 32 | 170 | 280 | 510 |
| 1.8 | 29 | 150 | 297 | 450 |
| 2.0 | 26 | 140 | 308 | 420 |
Why Our Ship Launching Airbags?
Superior Manufacturing & Quality Control Processes from the
selection of raw materials to the highly skilled
production process.
