Tandem and side-by-side mooring offlaoding systems and associated methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016236756-A1
Application number	US-201415022419-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 11, 2014
Priority date	Sep 18, 2013
Publication date	Aug 18, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A mooring system comprising: an offshore structure comprising one or more hawsers; a vessel; a first mooring line; and a second mooring line.

First claim

1 . A mooring system comprising: an offshore structure comprising one or more hawsers; a vessel; a first mooring line; and a second mooring line.

2 . The mooring system of claim 1 , wherein the offshore structure is a floating liquid natural gas facility.

3 . The mooring system of claim 1 , wherein the vessel is a liquid natural gas carrier vessel.

4 . The mooring system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second mooring lines are anchored to a sea floor.

5 . The mooring system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second mooring lines each comprise a buoy and a marker buoy.

6 . The mooring system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second mooring lines are connected to each other via a chord line.

7 . The mooring system of claim 1 , wherein the vessel is connected to the first mooring line, the second mooring line, and the one or more hawsers.

8 . The mooring system of claim 7 , wherein the vessel and the offshore structure are parallel to each other.

9 . The mooring system of claim 7 , wherein the vessel and the offshore structure are perpendicular to each other.

10 . A method for mooring a vessel comprising: providing a vessel; providing an offshore structure comprising one or more hawsers; providing a first mooring line; providing a second mooring line; attaching the first mooring line to the vessel; attaching the second mooring line to the vessel; and attaching the one or more hawsers to the vessel.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the offshore structure is a floating liquid natural gas facility.

12 . The method of claim 10 wherein the vessel is a liquid natural gas carrier vessel.

13 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the first and second mooring lines are anchored to a sea floor.

14 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the first and second mooring lines each comprise a buoy and a marker buoy.

15 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the first and second mooring lines are connected to each other via a chord line.

16 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising orienting the vessel parallel with the offshore structure.

17 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising orienting the vessel perindicular to the offshore structure.

18 . A method for offloading oil and/or gas from a structure comprising: providing a side-by-side mooring system comprising an offshore structure comprising two hawsers, a vessel, a first mooring line, and a second mooring line, connecting the vessel to the first mooring line, the second mooring line, and the two hawsers in a side-by-side arrangement; transferring oil and/or gas from the structure to the vessel; and disconnecting the vessel from the first mooring line, the second mooring line, and the two hawsers.

19 . A method for offloading oil and/or gas from a structure comprising: providing a tandem mooring system comprising an offshore structure comprising a hawser, a vessel, a first mooring line, a second mooring line, and a hawser; connecting the vessel to the first mooring line, the second mooring line, and the hawser in a tandem arrangement; transferring oil and/or gas from the structure to the vessel; and
disconnecting the vessel from the first mooring line, the second mooring line, and the hawser.

Assignees

• Shell Oil Co

Inventors

• Van Den Haak Arno Laurentius Michael
• Liapis Stergios
• Li Yile
• Matsuura Joao Paulo Juliao

Classifications

• B63B2035/448

  Floating hydrocarbon production vessels, e.g. Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessels [FPSO] · CPC title

• B63B21/50 Primary

  Anchoring arrangements {or methods} for special vessels, e.g. for floating drilling platforms or dredgers · CPC title

• B63B35/44

  Floating buildings, stores, drilling platforms, or workshops, e.g. carrying water-oil separating devices {(construction methods for floating offshore platforms B63B75/00)} · CPC title

• B63B27/30

  {Arrangement of ship-based loading or unloading equipment} for transfer at sea between ships or between ships and off-shore structures · CPC title

• B63B21/20

  Adaptations of chains, ropes, hawsers, or the like, or of parts thereof · CPC title