Patent ID: 6190089
Filing Date: 2001-02-20
Classification: B63B,G01S

Abstract:
A deep draft semi-submersible floating structure, comprising:a plurality of independent vertical buoyant columns having individual ballast means for accommodating eccentricities of a deck supported by upper portions of said columns and/or operational loads so as to prevent mutual load transfer between said columns, each of said columns comprising a cylindrical outer shell reinforced with corrugated stiffening panels secured to an interior surface of said outer shell and extending through substantially entire length of each of said columns and a ring frame mounted in a concentric relationship to said outer shell a distance away from said stiffening panels;a plurality of horizontal bracing members positioned between said columns at a plurality of vertical locations along said columns for retaining said columns in a spaced-apart relationship to each other; andwherein a center of gravity of said structure is maintained below a center of buoyancy.