Patent ID: 7984525

Claim:
A method of providing access between a first marine structure comprising a vessel navigatable under its own power and a second marine structure comprising: providing the first marine structure with a runway; providing a gangway apparatus mounted in a stored condition on the runway, the gangway apparatus comprising one or more linkages by means of which the gangway apparatus is mounted on the runway and is moveable along the runway from the stored condition to, or towards, a use condition; navigating the vessel to a position such that the vessel and the second marine structure are proximate one another; providing at least one guide wire, the gangway apparatus being attached or attachable to a said guide wire by means of one or more slidable fixings; connecting the at least one guide wire between a location on the first marine structure and an attachment location on the second marine structure proximate the location of entry to the second marine structure; with said guide wire connected between the vessel and the second marine structure, controlling and, where necessary, adjusting the position of the vessel with respect to the second marine structure so that the vessel and the second marine structure are maintained in spaced apart relation to one another, and maintaining the at least one guide wire at a tension sufficient to support said gangway apparatus; moving the gangway apparatus from the stored condition to the use condition by moving the gangway apparatus such that said linkage moves along the runway and sliding the slidable fixing(s) along a said guide wire and, where necessary, adjusting the position of the first marine structure until the gangway apparatus spans the gap between the first marine structure and location of entry to the second marine structure, and; allowing the linkage freely to traverse the runway to accommodate relative movement of the vessel and the second marine structure towards and away from each other.