Abstract: A transport system (10) for transporting a litter carrier (40) from one location onboard a first ship to a second location onboard another ship includes a retractable boom (12) having a stationary member (16) and a telescoping member (18) slidably engaged therein. Boom (12) also includes a hoist unit (28) which is operatively connected through a hoist cable (34) to carrier (40) to cause movement thereof. Carrier (40) includes acoustic rangefinders (50) and contact detectors (52) which are electrically coupled to a control circuit (60) located onboard one of the vessels through internal electrical conductors in hoist cable (34). Rangefinders (50) generate signals indicative of the distance between carrier (40) and a selected one of the ships. Contact detectors (52) provide signals which indicate whether carrier (40) is in transit or has landed onto a ship.

Abstract: A paravane handling system which includes a wing-shaped paravane (40) connected by four lines to a hitching device (28) which in turn is connected by a main line (26) to a winch onboard a vessel (10). The main line (26) is arranged to have air gun cable arrays attached thereto for surveying the ocean floor. Vessel (10) also includes a drum retrieval winch (18) for controlling a retrieval line (20) which is connected to a latching mechanism (24) arranged to run along the main line (26) and engage with the hitching device (28) of the paravane (40). A unidirectional stop (42) is released when the latching mechanism (24) is pulled back toward the vessel (10) and allows the lower two paravane lines (34) and (36) to slacken so that the paravane (40) assumes a horizontal position and planes along the surface of the water as it is pulled back to vessel (10) by the retrieval line (20).