초록 ▼

The disclosure describes apparatus for mooring a vessel 10 in unprotected waters. The vessel 10 contains a recess 34 in its hull adapted for receiving a buoyant mooring element 18. The mooring element 18 is attached to the ocean floor 12 by a plurality of mooring lines 20. Means are provided for rel

The disclosure describes apparatus for mooring a vessel 10 in unprotected waters. The vessel 10 contains a recess 34 in its hull adapted for receiving a buoyant mooring element 18. The mooring element 18 is attached to the ocean floor 12 by a plurality of mooring lines 20. Means are provided for releasably securing the mooring element 18 within the recess 34. The buoyancy of the mooring element is established such that on release from the vessel 10 it sinks to a predetermined depth a spaced distance above the ocean floor. The apparatus of the present invention is especially well suited for mooring a hydrocarbon storage tanker proximate the terminus of a production riser in waters subject to ice floes.

대표청구항 ▼

A vessel having a detachable vessel mooring system, said vessel comprising: a hull, said hull defining a mooring recess, said recess being situated intermediate the bow and stern of the vessel and being in a wholly submerged portion of said hull; a buoyant mooring element sized to be situated within

A vessel having a detachable vessel mooring system, said vessel comprising: a hull, said hull defining a mooring recess, said recess being situated intermediate the bow and stern of the vessel and being in a wholly submerged portion of said hull; a buoyant mooring element sized to be situated within said submerged mooring recess; a plurality of mooring lines extending between and connected to said mooring element and the ocean floor, said mooring lines being arranged so that as said mooring element moves downward from said mooring recess, an increasing amount of each mooring line comes to rest on the ocean floor; means for securing said mooring element within said mooring recess; means for permitting the vessel to pivot about the mooring element along a substantially vertical axis; means for releasing said mooring element from said vessel; and, said mooring element being adapted to sink upon being released from said vessel to an equilibrium position above the ocean floor at which the buoyancy of the mooring element is balanced by the loading imposed on the mooring element, the loading on said mooring element decreasing with increasing depth due to increasing amounts of said mooring lines resting on the ocean floor.