摘要 |
An offshore fluid transfer system is described, for transferring fluid between stations (12, 14, FIG. 1) that may be many kilometers apart and lie in deep water, which avoids the need for making fluid connections at great underwater depths. A buoy station (14) includes a buoy (40) anchored to the seafloor to lie a moderate distance below the sea surface, and coupled through a flexible hose (46) to a turret (52) that is attached to a weathervaning vessel (30) and that is anchored to the seafloor. A major conduit portion (34) which extends between the first station and the buoy, includes a long pipeline of series-connected steel pipes that extends along the seafloor to near the buoy station, with an end portion (32) of the pipeline extending in a J-curve and in a primarily upward direction to the underwater buoy.
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