Off-shore oil well leakage confiner

Claim 1

An offshore oil well enclosure for confining leaking oil from the well comprising a generally circular wall surrounding said well, means for floating said wall in a body of water, including a plurality of pontoons operatively connected to the wall, means for sinking said wall beneath the level of said body of water, means to anchor the floating circular wall to the floor beneath said body of water in generally concentric relation to said well, said means for sinking said wall including floating valve mechanism located exteriorly of said wall and one or more connecting lines from said valve mechanism to said pontoons, said pontoons being located around a face of said wall and interconnected by a pair of lines providing communication between all of the pontoons, said connecting lines from said valve mechanism having communication with the pair of lines interconnecting the pontoons, said valve mechanism being mounted on a floating platform locateD outside said circular wall whereby a vessel may approach said platform mechanism to sink said wall for access to said well, said circular wall being comprised of a series of plates secured together to provide a continuous enclosure around said well for confining oil on the surface of said body of water and said plates being permanently secured together by welding their respectively adjoining edges to each other, and said pontoons encircle said wall and are supportingly mounted on the outside face of the wall.