Patent ID: 8021082

Claim:
A suction pile configured to be sunk into a seabed surmounted with water, and the water has a seabed hydrostatic pressure in the vicinity of the seabed, the suction pile comprising a cylindrical wall, a piston within the wall and that is movable inside the cylindrical wall, the cylindrical wall having an open suction end configured to be sunk into the seabed, the piston delimiting in a sealed manner two opposite chambers, one of the chambers extends between the suction end and the piston and is configured to be filled with water when the suction end is placed against the seabed, the suction pile also comprising a pump configured for extracting water contained in the one chamber and for causing the suction end to sink into the seabed; a device configured for immobilizing the piston relative to the cylindrical wall, while the cylindrical wall has a water-entry end opposite to the suction end relative to the piston, in order to allow entry of water at hydrostatic pressure into the other chamber; the piston is alternatively immobilized and made to move from the suction end to the water-entry end gradually as the suction end is sunk in, so that the piston is subjected to the seabed hydrostatic pressure for causing the suction end to sink into the seabed.