Marine platform foundation structure

Claim 1

A foundation structure for a marine platform having a work deck, and being disposed in an offshore body of water, said structure including; a plurality of laterally joined elongated columns having opposed upper and lower ends, and a plurality of vertically spaced bracing members interconnecting said respective elongated columns, said respective columns being floatably positioned in said body of water in a generally upright disposition, the said column upper ends extending beyond the water''s surface and being adapted to supportably engage said work deck, anchor means fixedly positioned at the floor of said body of water, and including a plurality of upstanding posts disposed in vertical alignment with said respective elongated columns, said posts having a substantially uniform diameter along the outer surface thereof, a shell forming a cavity at the column lower end thereof, said shell embodying an annular bearing ring having a center opening of a sufficient diameter to slidably register about the said anchoring post and to maintain a sliding relationship therewith when said column assumes a position canted from the vertical, the lower of said column bracing members being disposed adjacent to said shell forming said cavity, whereby to permit vertical and pivotal movement of said respective columns about their respective anchor posts in response to lateral displacement of the column upper ends.