Mooring fenders, esp. for legs of offshore oil drilling platforms - using circular row of thick-walled rubber tubes with absorb shock if ship hits platform legs

摘要

Mooring posts, piles or the legs of marine structure are provided with shock absorbing fenders. Each fender consists of a circular row of vertical rubber tubes, which are joined together by flexible chains or cables. The chains or cables are also used to suspend the tow of rubber tubes from a ring which is free to rotate on the leg of an offshore platform or other tubular structure partly immersed in the sea. The chains are pref. partly covered by protective flexible sheaths. The rubber tubes. pref. have thick walls; and the circular row of tubes may float on seawater around a platform leg. A simple and expensive fender which prevents damage, esp. when a ship is being moored to the legs of an offshore platform.