Abstract: A single point submersible mooring buoy for use in ice infested and severe sea state anchorages for transferring fluids between marine tankers and fluid handling facilities includes a buoy body having a rotatable turntable disposed thereon for supporting a hose reel and a mooring hawser and associated winch. The buoy includes onboard anchor chain windlasses for maintaining anchor chain tension in the surfaced as well as submerged positions. Suitable ballast tanks, compressed air reservoirs, hydraulic pumps and motors are disposed on the buoy and may be operated by remote control to move the buoy between floating and submerged positions and to provide for connecting and disconnecting the fluid transfer hose and mooring hawser with respect to a vessel such as a tanker.

Abstract: An offshore mooring buoy for mooring a crude oil tanker and the like includes a hawser tension sensing member and a control circuit for generating indicator signals in response to predetermined mooring tension forces exerted on the buoy under varying sea conditions. A mast mounted on a mooring platform of the buoy includes a vertically-spaced array of colored indicator lamps which provide visual indication to the ship's crew of a range of acceptable, stand-by, and unacceptable mooring loads exerted on the buoy and the hawser. The circuit is also operable to energize a horn when a predetermined sustained mooring force is exerted on the buoy as a back-up signal or when weather conditions impair visual observation of the indicator lamps.