Patent ID: 6935390

Claim:
A method of fluid transfer between a marine production platform and a work vessel wherein the platform or work vessel has a guard rail, comprising the steps of: a) positioning the work vessel next to the production platform; b) adjusting the elevational positions of the vessel relative to the production platform so that a deck portion of the production platform and a deck portion of the work vessel are at about the same elevation; c) providing a bridge truss that enables a span to be formed between the deck portions of the production platform and work vessel, wherein the truss has an extension with a foot that fits under at least part of the guard rail, the bridge truss having interconnected truss members and a planar surface that enables flexible hoses to be supported by the truss and a plurality of piping spool pieces with disconnectable fittings; d) spanning the gap between the marine production platform and the work vessel with the truss; and e) attaching piping systems on the production platform and work vessel to the spool pieces at the disconnectable fittings so that fluid transfer is enabled between the production platform and the work vessel via the spool pieces on the truss.