Mooring cable device for extremely shallow water crude oil loading and unloading terminal
By designing heavy-duty shackles, mooring cables, and hollow buoys, the problems of swaying and wear of mooring cable devices in extremely shallow waters have been solved, enabling safe mooring of oil tankers and reducing costs, thus meeting the needs of oil tankers of different tonnages.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-04-01
- Publication Date
- 2026-03-13
AI Technical Summary
In extremely shallow waters, the offline buoys of mooring cable systems suffer from large swaying amplitudes, are prone to wear and tear, and have fixed positions, making it impossible to keep them in place safely and increasing operating costs.
A mooring cable system for a crude oil unloading terminal in extremely shallow water was designed, comprising a heavy-duty shackle, a mooring cable, a tanker-end friction chain, a hollow buoy, a pickup cable, and a position indicator cable. The hollow buoy provides buoyancy, adjusts the immersion depth of the tanker-end friction chain, ensures the system is safely in place, and uses high-strength materials and connecting rings to ensure a stable connection.
It enables safe mooring of oil tankers in extremely shallow waters, avoids damage to equipment from contact with the seabed, reduces investment costs, adapts to the mooring needs of oil tankers of different tonnages, and improves the robustness and reliability of mooring.
Smart Images
Figure CN223990135U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the technical field of mooring cable devices, and in particular to a mooring cable device for a crude oil unloading terminal in extremely shallow water. Background Technology
[0002] Fixed or floating crude oil unloading terminals are offshore terminals that facilitate the unloading of crude oil cargo by oil tankers near nearshore storage or production sites. They solve the problem of medium and large oil tankers being unable to enter ports due to their deep draft. Compared with building deep-water ports, they have advantages such as lower investment, shorter construction period, and less environmental pollution. Various types and configurations of crude oil unloading terminals are available for different operating areas and hydrological conditions, such as rotary platform crude oil unloading pontoon terminals, turret crude oil unloading pontoon terminals, and pile-foundation column crude oil unloading terminals.
[0003] A mooring cable system is used to moor oil tankers at crude oil unloading terminals to achieve a weather vane effect and ensure the safety of crude oil unloading operations. It mainly consists of heavy-duty shackles, mooring cables, tanker-end friction chains, hollow buoys, retrieval cables, position lines, buoy shackles, and position buoys. Traditional mooring cable systems use additional anchor chain segments and shackles to connect to offline buoys at the tanker end to provide buoyancy and prevent sinking. This approach has disadvantages such as large swaying amplitude of the offline buoys, the need for additional anchor chain segments and shackles (which are prone to wear), and the fixed position of the offline buoys. Furthermore, it cannot ensure safe positioning in extremely shallow waters when not unloading oil, requiring additional equipment such as mooring cable reel-in / deel-out rollers and HPUs. The crude oil unloading terminal also needs additional deck space and load-bearing capacity to accommodate the new equipment, increasing overall operating costs.
[0004] Therefore, in extremely shallow waters, the offline buoys of mooring cable systems suffer from large swaying amplitudes, are prone to wear, and have fixed positions, which leads to problems such as the inability to achieve safe positioning and increased operating costs. In view of this, a mooring cable system for crude oil unloading terminals in extremely shallow waters is provided. Utility Model Content
[0005] The main objective of this invention is to provide a mooring cable device for crude oil unloading terminals in extremely shallow waters, in order to solve the problems mentioned in related technologies, such as the large swaying amplitude, easy wear and tear, and fixed position of the offline buoys of the mooring cable device in extremely shallow waters, which lead to the inability to achieve safe positioning and increased operating costs.
[0006] To achieve the above objectives, according to one aspect of the present invention, a mooring cable device for a crude oil unloading terminal in extremely shallow water is provided, comprising two heavy-duty shackles, one end of which is fixedly connected to a friction chain of the crude oil unloading terminal, and the other end of which is fixedly connected to a mooring cable. The other end of the mooring cable is fixedly connected to one end of the other heavy-duty shackle, and the other end of the other heavy-duty shackle is fixedly connected to a tanker-end friction chain. When the tanker-end friction chain is used for mooring the tanker, it connects the mooring cable device to the chain stopper of the tanker and locks it.
[0007] It also includes a hollow buoy, through which the tanker end friction chain passes. The hollow buoy can be fixed at any position on the tanker end friction chain. A pickup cable is fixedly connected to the other end of the tanker end friction chain. A position indicator cable is braided and connected to the other end of the pickup cable. A position indicator buoy is fixedly connected to one end of the position indicator cable.
[0008] Furthermore, both ends of the mooring cable are fixedly equipped with metal connecting rings, which are respectively fixedly connected to two heavy-duty shackles, and several floats are tied to the rope body of the mooring cable.
[0009] Furthermore, the hollow buoy includes a hollow galvanized steel pipe, the inner wall of which is connected to a plurality of flange bolts and nuts in a ring array, and an open flange is detachably and fixedly connected to the inner wall of one end of the hollow galvanized steel pipe by flange bolts and nuts, and hollow buoy pull rings are fixedly connected to both ends of the hollow galvanized steel pipe.
[0010] Furthermore, the buoyancy-providing part of the hollow pontoon is made of non-metallic material.
[0011] Furthermore, the friction chain at the tanker end penetrates the hollow galvanized steel pipe, and the length of the friction chain at the tanker end is greater than the sum of the length of the hollow buoy and the distance between the guide cable hole at the tanker end and the chain stopper.
[0012] Furthermore, one end of the tanker-end friction chain is fixedly provided with a self-contained shackle, and the tanker-end friction chain is fixedly connected to one end of the pickup cable through the self-contained shackle.
[0013] Furthermore, the length of the pickup cable is greater than 120m, and the density of the pickup cable is less than that of seawater, thus enabling self-floating.
[0014] Furthermore, the density of the positioning cable is less than that of seawater, enabling it to float independently.
[0015] Furthermore, a float shackle is fixedly connected to one end of the buoy, and the float shackle is fixedly connected to one end of the buoy cable.
[0016] Furthermore, the buoyancy indicator is made of a sealed non-metallic buoyancy material, and the static buoyancy of the buoyancy indicator is greater than 100 kg under standard seawater density.
[0017] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:
[0018] 1. This mooring cable device for a crude oil unloading terminal in extremely shallow water can not only moor oil tankers at fixed or floating crude oil unloading terminals, forming a weather vane effect to complete crude oil unloading operations, but also ensure safe positioning in extremely shallow water when not unloading crude oil, avoiding potential damage caused by the mooring cable device contacting the seabed. It also reduces investment costs, making it possible to economically and effectively develop my country's nearshore extremely shallow water oil and gas resources.
[0019] 2. In this kind of mooring cable device for a very shallow water crude oil unloading terminal, the hollow buoy can be fixed at any position on the friction chain by setting an open flange adapted to the friction chain. This effectively solves the shortcomings of traditional mooring cable solutions, such as large sway amplitude of offline buoys, the need for additional anchor chain sections and shackles, and the easy wear of additional anchor chain sections and shackles. The flange nuts can be disassembled and assembled using a nut wrench, which is very convenient to use.
[0020] 3. In this kind of mooring cable device for crude oil unloading terminals in extremely shallow water, one or two sets of heavy-duty shackles, mooring cables, friction chains, hollow buoys, pickup cables, position indicators, and position indicator buoy connection devices are provided. Therefore, it can be adapted to mooring of oil tankers of different tonnages and makes the mooring more secure and reliable.
[0021] 4. In this mooring cable device for a crude oil unloading terminal in extremely shallow water, all components and auxiliary parts are conventional industrial products and can be domestically produced. It will be an important means to effectively and economically develop nearshore extremely shallow water oil fields. At the same time, the usage status of each component can be recorded according to actual usage conditions, and disassembly and replacement are simple. The supply cycle of parts is short, and replacement can be carried out during non-crude oil unloading intervals, reducing the impact on production operations. It can be widely used for mooring oil tankers in crude oil unloading terminals of various water depths, types and configurations to achieve crude oil unloading. Attached image description:
[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the mooring cable device floating freely on the water surface during non-oil unloading operations in a preferred embodiment of this utility model.
[0023] Figure 2 This is a front view of the hollow pontoon in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0024] Figure 3 This is a side view of the hollow pontoon in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0025] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the hollow pontoon in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0026] Figure 5 In the preferred embodiment of this utility model, when the hollow buoy is not adjusted during non-discharge oil operation in extremely shallow water, the mooring cable device faces the predicament of touching the bottom.
[0027] Figure 6 In the preferred embodiment of this utility model, when the non-discharge oil operation is carried out in extremely shallow water, the mooring cable device is used to move the position of the buoy, and the mooring cable device is safely in place without touching the bottom.
[0028] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the connection state when the oil tanker is moored in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0029] Illustration:
[0030] 1. Friction chain at crude oil unloading terminal; 2. Heavy-duty shackle; 3. Mooring cable; 4. Friction chain at tanker end; 5. Hollow buoy; 6. Pickup cable; 7. Position indicator cable; 8. Buoy shackle; 9. Position indicator buoy; 10. Hollow galvanized steel pipe; 11. Open flange; 12. Flange bolts and nuts; 13. Hollow buoy pull ring. Detailed Implementation
[0031] To further illustrate the technical means and effects adopted by this utility model in order to achieve the intended utility model purpose, the following detailed description of the specific implementation methods, structure, features and effects of this utility model is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments.
[0032] Please see Figures 1-7 As shown, the purpose of this embodiment is to provide a mooring cable device for a crude oil unloading terminal in extremely shallow water, including two heavy shackles 2. One end of one heavy shackle 2 is fixedly connected to a crude oil unloading terminal friction chain 1, and the other end is fixedly connected to a mooring cable 3. The other end of the mooring cable 3 is fixedly connected to one end of the other heavy shackle 2, and the other end of the other heavy shackle 2 is fixedly connected to a tanker-end friction chain 4. The tanker-end friction chain 4 is used to connect the mooring cable device to the chain stopper of the tanker and lock it when the tanker is moored.
[0033] It also includes a hollow buoy 5, through which the tanker end friction chain 4 passes. The hollow buoy 5 can be fixed at any position on the tanker end friction chain 4. A pickup cable 6 is fixedly connected to the other end of the tanker end friction chain 4. A position indicator cable 7 is braided and connected to the other end of the pickup cable 6. A position indicator buoy 9 is fixedly connected to one end of the position indicator cable 7.
[0034] Both ends of the mooring cable 3 are fixedly equipped with metal connecting rings, which are respectively fixedly connected to two heavy-duty shackles 2. The connecting rings are made of high-strength alloy material to ensure stable connection under extreme sea conditions and heavy load conditions. The metal connecting rings have excellent corrosion resistance and wear resistance, and can be used for a long time in harsh marine environments without being easily damaged. In addition, several floats are tied to the rope of the mooring cable 3. The floats are made of lightweight, high-strength materials, such as foam plastic or synthetic rubber. The number of floats and the static buoyancy ratio can achieve the purpose of the mooring cable 3 floating freely on the water surface and having reserve buoyancy. The float binding material has sufficient strength, such as polyester fiber or nylon, and will not break.
[0035] Furthermore, the minimum breaking strength of the heavy shackle 2 and the mooring cable 3 is greater than that of the tanker end friction chain 4, and their breaking strengths are as similar as possible. This means that even under the most extreme conditions, these two components can withstand a tensile force equivalent to that of the tanker end friction chain 4 without breaking. The pickup cable 6, the float shackle 8, and the position indicator cable 7 are auxiliary connection, pickup, and position indicator components, and do not bear the mooring load when the tanker is in the state of crude oil unloading. Therefore, their minimum breaking strengths decrease in sequence.
[0036] The hollow buoy 5 includes a hollow galvanized steel pipe 10. The inner wall of the hollow galvanized steel pipe 10 is connected with a plurality of flange bolts and nuts 12 in a ring array. An open flange 11 is detachably and fixedly connected to the inner wall of one end of the hollow galvanized steel pipe 10 through the flange bolts and nuts 12. Hollow buoy pull rings 13 are fixedly connected to both ends of the hollow galvanized steel pipe 10.
[0037] The buoyancy-providing part of the hollow pontoon 5 is made of non-metallic material. The main body of the hollow pontoon 5 is made of EVA foam material. The hollow galvanized steel pipe 10 is embedded and fixed in the main body. The hollow pontoon 5 provides buoyancy support for the oil tanker end friction chain 4, the heavy-duty shackle 2 and itself, and has reserve buoyancy.
[0038] The tanker-end friction chain 4 passes through the hollow galvanized steel pipe 10. The hollow buoy 5 is quickly connected to the tanker-end friction chain 4 via the open flange 11. The open flange 11 is firmly fixed to the hollow galvanized steel pipe 10 by the flange bolts and nuts 12. The design of the open flange 11 also allows for easy disassembly and reassembly of the hollow buoy 5 during installation or maintenance. In non-unloading operation mode, the buoyancy provided by the hollow buoy 5 enables the tanker-end friction chain 4 to float on the sea surface and avoid sinking. The hollow buoy 5 can be moved along the tanker-end friction chain 4 by dragging the hollow buoy pull ring 13, thereby adjusting the immersion depth of the tanker-end friction chain 4 to adapt to use in extremely shallow water conditions. Once the immersion depth of the tanker-end friction chain 4 is adjusted to the required position, the position of the hollow buoy 5 on the tanker-end friction chain 4 is fixed by the open flange 11 and the flange bolts and nuts 12, preventing the hollow buoy 5 from shifting due to water flow or wind.
[0039] like Figure 1 As shown, if the hollow buoy 5 is initially positioned at the tanker end friction chain 4 using the traditional offline buoy locking position for mooring cable systems in extremely shallow water, the gap between the mooring cable system and the mud surface may be too small. In this case, use a wrench to remove the open flange 11 and drag the hollow buoy ring 13 along the tanker end friction chain 4 to adjust the immersion depth of the tanker end friction chain 4. During this process, it is necessary to carefully observe and measure the gap between the mooring cable system and the seabed mud surface to ensure that it is adjusted to the appropriate position until... Figure 6 When in the correct position, the mooring cable device is safely in place; and the flange nuts can be easily disassembled and assembled using a nut wrench, making it very convenient to use.
[0040] The length of the tanker-end friction chain 4 is greater than the sum of the length of the hollow buoy 5 and the distance between the tanker-end guide cable hole and the chain stopper. This ensures that the tanker-end friction chain 4 still has sufficient length to connect the tanker and the mooring system after passing through the hollow buoy 5. It also ensures that the tanker-end friction chain 4 can be smoothly locked on the chain stopper after passing through the guide cable hole, thereby effectively limiting the movement range of the tanker and improving the safety of the mooring system. When mooring the tanker, the tanker-end friction chain 4 can pass through the tanker guide cable hole and be locked on the tanker chain stopper, achieving a weather vane effect and ensuring the safety of crude oil unloading operations.
[0041] One end of the tanker-end friction chain 4 is fixedly equipped with a self-contained shackle, and the tanker-end friction chain 4 is fixedly connected to one end of the pickup cable 6 through the self-contained shackle.
[0042] The pickup cable 6 is longer than 120m, ensuring sufficient flexibility in connecting the tanker to the mooring point and adapting to the tanker's swaying and shifting in wind and waves. The pickup cable 6 has a density less than that of seawater, enabling it to float independently. The positioning cable 7 also has a density less than that of seawater, enabling it to float independently.
[0043] One end of the position indication buoy 9 is fixedly connected to a buoy shackle 8, which is also fixedly connected to one end of the position indication cable 7. The buoy shackle 8 not only provides an additional fixing point but also enhances the stability of the connection, ensuring that the connection will not loosen or break due to external forces under extreme weather or sea conditions. The position indication buoy 9 is made of a sealed non-metallic buoyancy material to facilitate position indication and connection / operation at sea. Furthermore, the static buoyancy of the position indication buoy 9 is greater than 100 kg at standard seawater density (1.025 g / cm³). 3 This ensures that the position buoy 9 can provide sufficient buoyancy support when operating at sea.
[0044] When a docking operation is required, the tanker approaches the position buoy 9 and hooks onto the buoy 9 and position cable 7. This part of the device is then guided through the tanker's cable guide hole to the guide wheel. The pickup cable 6 is gradually retrieved, ensuring it is in a slack state, until the tanker-end friction chain 4 is locked by the chain stop wheel. At this point, the mooring cable connection is complete, and crude oil docking operations can commence. Figure 7 As shown; the release process is the reverse of the connection process and will not be described in detail. If used in extremely shallow water conditions, the position of the hollow buoy 5 can be adjusted first to ensure that the friction chain 4 at the tanker end has sufficient length to complete the chain stop lock operation.
[0045] In practical use, this invention adjusts the position of the hollow buoy 5 on the friction chain 4 at the tanker end according to actual needs to ensure a suitable gap between the mooring cable device and the seabed mud surface. First, the open flange 11 is disassembled, then the hollow buoy pull ring 13 is pulled to adjust the immersion depth, and the open flange 11 is re-secured using flange bolts and nuts 12. As the tanker approaches the position indicator buoy 9, the onboard equipment is used to hook the position indicator buoy 9 and the position indicator cable 7. The position indicator cable 7 and the retrieval cable 6 are guided through the tanker's guide cable hole to the guide wheel, and the retrieval cable 6 is gradually retrieved to ensure safe retrieval. The pick-up cable 6 is kept slack to avoid excessive tension. As the pick-up cable 6 is retrieved, the tanker-end friction chain 4 is gradually pulled toward the tanker until it can be locked through the tanker's chain stop. After the tanker-end friction chain 4 passes through the chain stop and is locked, the mooring cable assembly is confirmed to be securely connected, and the crude oil unloading operation can begin. After the crude oil unloading is completed, the unloading operation is performed in the reverse order of the connection stage, that is, the lock on the tanker-end friction chain 4 on the chain stop is unlocked, and the pick-up cable 6 is gradually released, so that the tanker-end friction chain 4 and the mooring cable assembly gradually detach from the tanker.
[0046] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present utility model and are not intended to limit the present utility model in any way. Although the present utility model has been disclosed above with reference to preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present utility model. Any person skilled in the art can make some modifications or alterations to the above-disclosed technical content to create equivalent embodiments without departing from the scope of the present utility model. Any simple modifications, equivalent changes and alterations made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present utility model without departing from the scope of the present utility model shall still fall within the scope of the present utility model.
Claims
1. A mooring hawser arrangement for an ultra-shallow water crude oil loading terminal, comprising two heavy shackles (2), characterized in that, One of the heavy shackles (2) is fixedly connected with a crude oil unloading terminal friction chain (1), and the other end is fixedly connected with a mooring hawser (3), the other end of the mooring hawser (3) is fixedly connected with the other end of the heavy shackle (2), and the other end of the heavy shackle (2) is fixedly connected with an oil tanker end friction chain (4), which is used to connect the mooring hawser device to the oil tanker stopper and lock when the oil tanker is moored. It also includes a hollow buoy (5), the oil tanker end friction chain (4) penetrates the hollow buoy (5), the hollow buoy (5) can be fixed on the oil tanker end friction chain (4) at any position, the other end of the oil tanker end friction chain (4) is fixedly connected with a pickup cable (6), the other end of the pickup cable (6) is wovenly connected with a position indicating cable (7), one end of the position indicating cable (7) is fixedly connected with a position indicating buoy (9).
2. The mooring hawser arrangement for an ultra-deep water crude oil offloading terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that Both ends of the mooring hawser (3) are fixedly provided with metal connecting rings, which are respectively fixedly connected with the two heavy shackles (2), and a plurality of floats are bound on the rope of the mooring hawser (3).
3. The mooring hawser arrangement for an ultra-deep water crude oil offloading terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that, The hollow buoy (5) includes a hollow galvanized steel pipe (10), a plurality of flange bolts and nuts (12) are annularly arrayed and threadedly connected on the inner wall of the hollow galvanized steel pipe (10), an open flange (11) is detachably fixedly connected on the inner wall of one end of the hollow galvanized steel pipe (10) through the flange bolts and nuts (12), and hollow buoy pull rings (13) are fixedly connected on both ends of the hollow galvanized steel pipe (10).
4. The mooring hawser arrangement for an ultra-deep water crude oil offloading terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that, The hollow buoy (5) provides a buoyancy part made of non-metallic material.
5. The mooring hawser arrangement for an ultra-deep water crude oil offloading terminal according to claim 3, characterized in that, The oil tanker end friction chain (4) penetrates the hollow galvanized steel pipe (10), and the length of the oil tanker end friction chain (4) is greater than the sum of the length of the hollow buoy (5) and the distance between the oil tanker end fairlead and the stopper.
6. The mooring hawser arrangement for an ultra-deep water crude oil offloading terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that, The oil tanker end friction chain (4) is fixedly provided with a shackle at one end, and the oil tanker end friction chain (4) is fixedly connected with one end of the pickup cable (6) through the shackle.
7. The mooring hawser arrangement for an ultra-deep water crude oil offloading terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that, The length of the pickup cable (6) is greater than 120m, and the density of the pickup cable (6) is less than the density of seawater, so that it can float by itself.
8. The mooring hawser arrangement for an ultra-deep water crude oil offloading terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that, The density of the position indicating cable (7) is less than the density of seawater, so that it can float by itself.
9. The mooring hawser arrangement for an ultra-deep water crude oil offloading terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that, The position indicating buoy (9) is fixedly connected with a buoy shackle (8) at one end, and the buoy shackle (8) is fixedly connected with one end of the position indicating cable (7).
10. The mooring hawser arrangement for an ultra-deep water crude oil offloading terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that, The position indicating buoy (9) is made of airtight non-metallic buoyancy material, and the static buoyancy of the position indicating buoy (9) is greater than 100kg under the standard seawater density.