Apparatus for anchoring a platform at an offshore location

Claim 1

Apparatus for anchoring a platform at an offshore location, comprising a base adapted to be fixedly mounted at the subsurface beneath the platform, means on the base providing a substantially vertical opening therethrough whose upper end is flared outwardly along a gradually curved surface, a line having its lower end anchored to the base and passing through said opening for extension upwardly to said platform, each line comprising a flexible rope made up of a cluster of strands each including multiple metal wires, and a plurality of rings of rigid material surrounding said rope in spaced apart relation along the portion of the line which passes through the flared upper end of the opening through the base so as to maintain the rope out of contact therewith, and a sleeve of ductile material carried within each ring and having an inner surface which fits closely about the rope to conform generally with the irregular exterior surfaces between adjacent strands and between adjacent wires of each strand, each ring having a generally cylindrical outer surface for establishing line contact with the flared upper end of the opening when the line is forced thereagainst.