Patent ID: 8596907

Claim:
A lifting system retrofitable on a navigatable watercraft having a starboard side and a port side, the lifting system comprising: a plurality of supporting legs attached externally to the starboard side and the port side of the watercraft, each of the plurality of supporting legs is adapted to be lowered and raised to temporarily position the watercraft on a seabed in a stationary manner, a leg-lowering-and-raising device and a lifting-support device are provided for each of the plurality of supporting legs, a locking and braking device disposed on each of the plurality of supporting legs, the locking and braking device is adapted to provide a force locking engagement with the respective supporting leg, at least one brake rail disposed on each of the plurality of supporting legs to engage with the locking and braking device; wherein the lifting-support device is in operative connection with the locking and braking device and the lifting-support device is fixedly attached to the body of the watercraft in such a way that, when the plurality of supporting legs are lowered onto the seabed, the plurality of supporting legs lift the watercraft, wherein the locking and braking device is equipped with at least one brake caliper and with brake shoes adapted to be brought into engagement in a force locking way with the brake rail, each of the plurality of supporting legs is a part of the leg-lowering-and-raising device, and the leg-lowering-and-raising device includes a hydro-mechanical device adapted to fill and empty the respective supporting leg so as to control a buoyancy of the respective supporting leg.