A ballast and de-ballast system and method for an articulated tug barge (ATB) or integrated tug barge (ITB) are described herein. The system includes a tug ballast tank located on the tug, the tug ballast tank being configured to hold ballast water; and a barge trim tank located on the barge, the barge trim tank being configured to hold ballast water. The system further includes at least one umbilical line connecting the tug ballast tank to the barge trim tank. The system is configured to transfer ballast water between the tug ballast tank and the barge trim tank via the at least one umbilical line.

A flotation system for an offshore power generation platform comprises: multiple buoyant bodies each containing a high-pressure air and ballast water therein to create buoyancy; connecting members connecting the multiple buoyant bodies to each other; ballast water flowing tubes through which the ballast water contained in the multiple buoyant bodies flows with respect to each other; a high-pressure tank supplying the high-pressure air into the multiple buoyant bodies; a compressor replenishing air pressure present in the high-pressure tank; an equilibrium sensor sensing an equilibrium state of each of the multiple buoyant bodies and transmitting a signal; and a controller controlling, in response to the signal from the equilibrium sensor, an amount of air supplied from the high-pressure tank to the buoyant body and an amount of air discharged from the buoyant body.

A device includes at least one float. The at least one float is configured to provide a buoyancy force away from a seabed when placed in water. The device also includes an enclosure configured to house the at least one float. The enclosure comprises at least one connection configured to couple the enclosure to a self-elevating unit used in offshore oil operations or offshore gas operations.

An aquaculture system includes a pen configured to be disposed in a body of water and configured to at least temporarily store aquatic animals during development. A control system is configured to receive electric power from a power source and is configured to provide electric power to a pumping mechanism coupled to the pen such that the pumping mechanism provides a flow of water through the pen. A set of buoyancy tanks are coupled to the pen. A portion of the control system is in fluid communication with the set of buoyancy tanks and is configured to adjust a volume of fluid in at least one buoyancy tank to move the pen from a first position in which the pen is partially submerged in the body of water to a second position in which the pen is fully submerged in the body of water.

A marine vessel (10) includes: a hull (11); an electric propulsion portion (15) that propels the hull (11); a water tank portion (20) that is provided on the hull (11) and is capable of storing water in the water tank portion; a float portion (40) that is provided within the water tank portion (20) so as to be movable upward and downward; and a battery case (30) that is attached to the float portion (40) and is capable of storing a detachable portable battery (35) which becomes an electric power source of the electric propulsion portion (15) in the battery case.

A submersible node and a method and system for using the node to acquire data, including seismic data is disclosed. The node incorporates a buoyancy system to provide propulsion for the node between respective landed locations by varying the buoyancy between positive and negative. A first acoustic positioning system is used to facilitate positioning of a node when landing and a second acoustic positioning system is used to facilitate a node transiting between respective target landed locations.

Reconfigurable vehicles, methods of configuring modular vehicles are provided. Vehicles may have modules that may be coupled to the vehicle at discrete positions and at discrete angles. Configurations for the modular vehicles may be further determined automatically depending on desired vehicle characteristics. Modular vehicles may be configured manually, and a predicted vehicle characteristic may be determined.

A motile buoyancy apparatus for use in a fluid. The motile buoyancy apparatus includes an outer layer, the outer layer having a performance surface. The motile buoyancy apparatus includes at least a portion including a first material. The first material is a non-Newtonian material. The at least a portion causes the performance surface to exhibit a shear rate-variable shear response.

The invention discloses a universal offshore platform. The platform includes a truss body forming the support system of the platform. the truss body is a three-dimensional stable rigid support and comprises an underwater surface layer, a water surface layer and an overwater surface layer from bottom to top. It comprises a first floating body component, a second floating body component and several sporadic single floating bodies. The universal offshore platform of the present invention can be used independently, be used as a constitutional unit of a marine base and is less adversely affected by the wave motion. A buoyancy regulation method based on a universal offshore platform ensures stability of the platform and a power generation system based on the universal offshore platform takes full advantage of the energy of the waves to generate electricity.

An aquatic transportation, storage, and distribution system, including one or more storage containers and a guide structure. The storage container is capable of retaining one or more items therein and is configured to selectively vary the buoyancy thereof to urge the storage container to float up or sink down within an aquatic environment. The guide structure is supported at least partially within the aquatic environment and includes at least one non-horizontal segment. The storage container is configured to interact with the at least one segment as the storage container is urged to float up or sink within the aquatic environment such that the storage container is moved along the guide structure and is routed to a specified extraction point for retrieval from the aquatic environment.