Abstract: An offshore terminal mooring buoy of the cantenary anchor leg mooring (CALM) type includes a buoy which is designed to dive at an angle downwardly through large swells during bad weather. The buoy has a wedge shaped side cross-section including an inwardly angled upper sidewall that not only causes the buoy to dive through large swells, but also reduces its drag coefficient so that undue stresses will not be placed on the buoy's anchor chains as it dives through the water. The bottom submerged portion of the buoy can also incorporate a wedged shape to decrease its drag coefficient further. Preferably, the buoy also has a hexagonal shaped top cross-section which further reduces the buoy's drag coefficient, and makes the buoy easy to fabricate.

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.