Patent ID: 8590471

Claim:
A method of preventing leaks to a ship run aground comprising: at least one elongated flexible inflatable cylindrical structure with two ends and a center; lowering an inflatable expandable flexible cylindrical structure over the port side of a ship near the point of collision; manipulating the guide-wires, one past the stem of the ship and the other past the bow of the ship so that the lines are on the starboard side of the ship directly opposite the breach; attaching the guide-wires to winches on the deck of the ship; tensioning the guide-wires so that they passed under the hull of the ship and surround the object of the collision fully on the port side of the ship; lowering an inflatable expandable flexible cylindrical structure over the starboard side of a ship near the point of collision; manipulating the guide-wires, one past the stem of the ship and the other past the bow of the ship so that the lines are on the port side of the ship directly opposite the breach; attaching the guide-wires to winches on the deck of the ship; tensioning the guide-wires so that they passed under the hull of the ship and surround the object of the collision fully on the starboard side of the ship; inflating each cylinder to create a seal between the object of the collision, which is still embedded in said hull of the vessel, and the hull of the ship, and; performing recovery of leaking material.