Mooring of ship to pipe, esp. above oil well on seabed - where pipe connector is lifted off seabed and inserted in recess in bows of ship

摘要

This is an addn. to 35543, filed 25.11.76 which described a connector for joining a pipe on the seabed to a pipe on a ship, esp. a tanker. The novelty is the use of a connector block with a hole contg. swivel trunnions for a sleeve (I) fixed to the end of a flexible pipe leading to a well, storage tank, or other plant on the seabed. The block is also connected to the seabed or plant by a hawser forming a mooring for the tanker. The block can be drawn by a towline into a corresp. recess in the bows of the tanker and temporarily fixed in the recess, e.g. by bolts. Sleeve (I) can then be fixed to a rigid pipe on the tanker, e.g. for transferring oil from a well to the tanker. As compared with the main patent, the wt. and cost of the device are decreased, and the ship can be moored simultaneously with making a pipe connection.