Abstract: A mooring system for a seagoing vessel, such as an oil tanker, employs a submerged buoy and a fluid swivel joint mounted in the vessel. The buoy is submerged to a depth sufficient enough to allow the moored vessel to drift over the buoy and other mooring elements without colliding with the same. A motor drive assembly is provided for a rotating shaft in the fluid swivel joint which maintains the shaft in the same position relative to the buoy, regardless of environmental induced changes in the heading of the moored vessel. This insures that one or more flexible hoses connected between the shaft and the mooring will not be twisted if the vessel begins to rotate about the vertical axis of the mooring. Positioning the fluid swivel joint within the vessel provides easy access to the joint for maintenance or repair and shields the joint from the seawater's detrimental effects.

Abstract: A mooring system for an oceangoing vessel such as an oil tanker is disclosed. The system includes a rigid shaft immovably affixed to said vessel, a collar attached to the lower end of the shaft and a chain table rotatably mounted on the collar. The system is easily repaired and maintained and provides a stable solid anchoring arrangement which is able to withstand the intense stress to which it is subjected when mooring a vessel in rough, ocean waters.

Abstract: A turret type mooring for a seagoing vessel, such as an oil tanker, is disclosed. The mooring includes a fluid swivel joint which is formed in the bow of the vessel for loading and unloading oil or other fluid to or from the vessel. The mooring is disposed within a watertight compartment and can be accessed for repairs, maintenance and monitoring purposes from within the vessel so that external access beneath the waterline is not required and the mooring can be serviced without taking it or the vessel out of operation.