Free floating mooring links

Abstract

For floating platform horizontal stability, mooring lines can be floated by external water neutral-density means to remove anchor line curvature. Thus mooring lines could be pulled straight under water to provide optimal horizontal resistance, thereby reducing need of excessive mooring line pretension that increases platform loads. More savings are realized by not having to design floating platforms with extra capacity to handle added pretension and weigh of mooring line. Free Floating Mooring Links capitalize on the concept of overall neutral density with water, but instead of using cables or chains with external floatation means to keep anchor lines from sinking in water, FFML utilizes the shape of anchor line itself to create inherent built-in floatation so as to achieve overall system neutral density to water. Each FFML section has a longitudinal float that provides floatation and a connector that provides chain-like flexibility and connectivity, and the longitudinal float is in essence equivalent to arranging conventional cable wires into the shape of a pipe or tube that could be enclosed for buoyancy.

1 . A mooring system having multiple link sections, with each link section comprising a connector and a longitudinal float; 
 with said connector having flexibility and connectivity of chain links, and    with said longitudinal float having adequate buoyancy such that the longitudinal float and the connector together have about the same density as water.