Abstract: An automated system is provided for aligning a vehicle tow ball with a tow cup of a trailer. The vehicle has a controller connected to at least some of the vehicle steering, transmission and braking systems to enable the controller automatically to steer and/or move and/or brake the vehicle. Sensors at the rear of the vehicle detect the presence of an object within a region behind the vehicle. The sensors are connected to the controller to utilize the data from the sensors to identify the tow cup of a trailer located within the region behind the vehicle, and to control the reversing of the vehicle in order to bring the tow ball into alignment beneath the identified tow cup so as to facilitate coupling of the tow cup onto the tow ball.

Abstract: An automated system is provided for aligning a vehicle tow ball with a tow cup of a trailer. The vehicle has a controller connected to at least some of the vehicle steering, transmission and braking systems to enable the controller automatically to steer and/or move and/or brake the vehicle. Sensors at the rear of the vehicle detect the presence of an object within a region behind the vehicle. The sensors are connected to the controller to utilize the data from the sensors to identify the tow cup of a trailer located within the region behind the vehicle, and to control the reversing of the vehicle in order to bring the tow ball into alignment beneath the identified tow cup so as to facilitate coupling of the tow cup onto the tow ball.

Abstract: An arrangement for the storage of marketable quantities of crude oil at a semi-submersible floating production vessel. The storage is achieved by hanging a segmented reinforced concrete tank to the underside of the semi-submersible vessel. The semi-submersible vessel can be an existing semi-submersible drilling rig. By maintaining the mass of the tank and contents slightly greater than the displacement of the tank and by arranging the centre of gravity of the tank below its centre of buoyancy, the metacentric height of the semi-submersible vessel is approved. The storage arrangement for the oil provides the necessary maintenance of mass by either storing approximately ? of the oil in oil-over-water chambers and approximately ? in gas-over-oil chambers or by using a gas-over-oil-over-water arrangement in all the chambers. The piping arrangements minimize the free surface of liquids in the tank.