Patent ID: 7287484

Claim:
A system for berthing a vessel in unprotected waters, comprising: (a) a marine structure, attached to the bottom of the sea and provided with loading equipment, said loading equipment configured for attachment to a manifold on said vessel; (b) at least two floating dolphins, each spaced apart from the other and each moored to the bottom of the sea by relatively soft catenary mooring means or by relatively semi-taut mooring means, said floating dolphins provided with fendering means and placed in closed proximity and in a first fixed spatial relationship and orientation to said marine structure in line with either of the sides of said vessel in said unprotected waters; (c) positioning means for bringing said vessel alongside in close proximity and in a second fixed spatial relationship and orientation to said marine structure approximately beam on and in line with said fendering means with which said floating dolphins are provided and with the lateral side of the vessel and the fendering means disposed approximately in the same vertical plane; and (d) relatively stiff mooring lines adapted for securing said vessel to said floating dolphins so that said loading equipment may be used to load and unload said vessel, wherein said relative stiff mooring lines are substantially stiff relative to the mooring means.