A dock line system for securing a vehicle or vessel to a structure has a secondary release when a first coupling member cannot be released from a main body of the system. The secondary release is selectively attached to the main body. When the secondary release is utilized, a second coupling member is detached from the main body allowing a user control of the vehicle or vessel.

The mooring connector has a hollow body or shell and a central core. The hollow body or shell is formed from an engineering polymer, e.g. polyamide, and is generally cylindrical and has two shell parts. The hollow body has an outer surface and an inner surface. The outer surface has a central groove portion or rope running surface and two outer groove portions or rope running surfaces. The two outer groove portions or rope running surfaces are tapered, such that the outer groove portions are not equally spaced from the central groove portion around the entire circumference of the hollow body or shell. The central core is a solid body that is formed from a metallic material, for example steel. The central core is generally cylindrical and has a shape that is configured to correspond to the shape of the recess of the hollow body or shell. The central core has a central portion and arms that extend from the central portion to outer flanges. The diameter of the central core at the outer flanges and the central portion is greater than the diameter of the central core at the arms. This is to ensure that the central core has the required strength in the areas of the mooring connector that supports a rope, in use.

A release mechanism for separating sections of mooring lines has a main body with two separable first and second halves or sections. A hydraulic assembly within the main body is controlled by an acoustic system, and moves a rod and button so as to move locking shoes within the main body. The locking shoes hold the first and second sections locked together, or alternatively release them to disconnect the mooring line. In addition to the acoustically controlled hydraulic assembly, the release mechanism has a mechanical disconnect, which is operated by pulling the release mechanism into a chain fairlead or the like, or by pulling an encircling member such as a trigger sleeve into the release mechanism. The release mechanism may include instrumentation to transmit various operating conditions of the release mechanism when in use.

Mooring chains used in offshore environments are typically formed from carbon steels due to their wear and fatigue resistance properties. Although carbon steels may exhibit robust mechanical properties, they are susceptible to corrosion, which can shorten the usable working lifetime of mooring chains, particularly in a seawater environment. Austenitic steels comprising high percentages of manganese may have comparable mechanical properties to the carbon steels commonly used in mooring chains, yet exhibit less susceptibility to corrosion. Austenitic steels suitable for use in mooring chains and other structures in contact with or exposed to a seawater environment may comprise: 0.4-0.8 wt. % C, 12-25 wt. % Mn, 4-15 wt. % Cr, a non-zero amount of Si<3 wt. %, a non-zero amount of Al<0.5 wt. %, a non-zero amount of N<0.1 wt. %, <5 wt. % Mo, and balance Fe and inevitable impurities.

Disclosed is an assembly for anchoring a submerged vehicle to a stationary object. The assembly includes a telescoping tube having a hollow inner tube and a hollow outer tube, each the inner tube and the outer tube having a proximal end and a distal end. The distal end of the inner tube slidably received within the outer tube through its proximal end. A snap button configured at the proximal end of the outer tube that can engage with a hole near the distal end of the inner tube for locking the movement of the inner tube within the outer tube. A rope having a first end and a second end, the first end of the rope attached to the inner tube near its proximal end. The second member passes through the eye of the spring hook and into the proximal end of the inner tube to form an anchoring loop. The second end of the rope exits the telescoping tube through the distal end of the outer tube and forms a boat hook loop.

A rope structure defining first and second ends and comprising first and second directional strands defining a first and second characteristics, respectively, and at least one additional strand. The second directional strand is distinguishable from the first directional strand and the at least one additional strand is distinguishable from the first and second directional strands based on the first and second characteristics. A first adjacent portion defined by the first directional strand and a second adjacent portion defined by the second directional strand are arranged within intermediate sections of the rope structure such that the first adjacent portion(s) of the first directional strand is(are) closer to the first end of the rope than the second adjacent portion(s) of the second directional strand and the second adjacent portion is(are) closer to the second end of the rope than the first adjacent portion.

A multiline ring anchor and a method for installing the multiline ring anchor is disclosed herein. The multiline ring anchor can be used for mooring systems for including, but limited to, arrays of offshore floating offshore wind turbines, wave power, and floating barriers.

A mobile offshore drilling unit is converted to provide drilling, completion and workover access to multiple dry tree wells from a drilling derrick to allow production and export of oil and gas from high pressure, high temperature reservoirs in deep offshore waters. Existing practice has been for the drilling derrick on a production platform supporting dry tree wells to be moved over a fixed well slot. The present invention provides a movable wellbay that supports multiple top-tensioned subsea well tieback risers, which may be positioned directly below the derrick's rotary table and/or beneath another operating device. The use of top-tensioned subsea well tieback risers supported by the movable wellbay allows the converted facility to drill, complete, maintain, improve and produce from subsea wells through dry trees.

A hydraulic mooring cable holding device provides a hydraulic cylinder-piston combination (20) for controlling the force on a mooring cable between one end of a ship and a mooring point. An overpressure protection part (26) with hydraulic liquid passing from the hydraulic cylinder (20) to a reservoir (260) when the pressure in the cylinder exceeds a threshold value, and returns the hydraulic liquid when the pressure has dropped. An auxiliary reservoir (24) with a steeper pressure response than the main reservoir (260) is connected in parallel with the main reservoir. The auxiliary reservoir may be connected to and/or disconnected from the cylinder under control of a sensor or a further mooring device at the other end of the ship, to reduce movement of the ship e.g. in swell. Furthermore, pressure from the auxiliary reservoir may be used to drive an electric generator.

A mooring line (10) comprising a metal chain (24) and an elastomeric element (28) which is attached between two points of attachment (30, 32) thereby defining a bypass section (34) of metal chain (24). The elastomeric element (28) is arranged such that when an initial tensile load is applied, the elastomeric element (28) stretches from an initial length to a longer length wherein the bypass section (34) is not taut and thus the initial tensile load is transmitted from and to further sections (24) of the metal chain through the elastomeric element (28). When a further tensile load is applied, the elastomeric element (28) stretches to a length wherein the bypass section (34) becomes taut, and thus the further tensile load is transmitted directly from and to the further sections (24) of the metal chain through the bypass section (34).