Patent ID: 7553107

Claim:
An underwater sea bed storage installation for storing a cryogenic liquid, the installation comprising: a base configured to rest on the sea bed; a first underwater storage cell for storing the cryogenic liquid and connected to the base; a support column rising from the first storage cell to above water level; a platform mounted on the support column; cryogenic liquid supply and discharge pipes running between the first storage cell and the platform; the first storage cell comprising a closed outer enclosure, a vapor barrier positioned inside the outer enclosure and defining a watertight space inside the vapor barrier, the outer enclosure and the vapor barrier defining a first annular space between the outer enclosure and the vapor barrier; spacer pieces arranged in the first annular space shaped and positioned to hold the outer enclosure and the vapor barrier, a first spacer piece of the spacer pieces spaced a distance from a second spacer piece of the spacer pieces; drainage elements operable to drain off water entering and accumulating in the first annular space; a self-supporting cryogenic liquid storage tank inside the vapor barrier, the storage tank being sized and shaped such that the storage tank and the vapor barrier define a second separating space between the storage tank and the vapor barrier; and thermal insulation positioned in the second separating space; a second storage cell; and a second support column rising from the second storage cell, wherein the support column is positioned on a first side of the first storage cell that is opposite and away from a second side of the first storage cell that is toward the second storage cell.