Floatable modular protective harbor structure and method of seasonal service extension of offshore vessels in ice-prone environments

A method for extending the service of an offshore vessel in a geographical region having a season of ice conditions comprising:

• establishing a harbor space protected from forces of ice features in a body of water at a location of operations by:
• providing a modular protective structure at the location of operations, the modular protective structure comprising a flotation support, a protective harbor wall, a telescoping connection operatively coupled to the protective harbor wall and the flotation support, and a pile, the protective harbor wall constructed and arranged to enclose the harbor space, the harbor space being sized to receive the offshore vessel,
• submerging the modular protective structure to a submerged position where the flotation support is positioned on a seabed of the body of water and the entirety of the protective harbor wall while in a retracted position is positioned below a surface of the body of water,
• securing the flotation support to the seabed using the pile, and
• raising the protective harbor wall to a raised position using the telescoping connection while the flotation support remains secured to the seabed, at the raised position at least a portion of the protective harbor wall extends above the surface of the body of water to establish a harbor within which the offshore vessel is protected by the protective harbor wall from the forces of ice features in the body of water;
• moving the offshore vessel into a position within the protective harbor wall proximate the location of operations;
• and
• extending operations of the offshore vessel in the season of ice conditions by maintaining the protective harbor wall in the raised position to protect the offshore vessel from ice features during the extended operations.

A method for preparing a site for operations in a region having periods of ice conditions, the method comprising:

• constructing a modular protective harbor wall by operatively coupling a plurality of elements together to form an annulus;
• constructing a modular flotation support by:
• constructing a plurality of modular flotation elements,
• launching the constructed plurality of modular flotation elements separately into a body of water, and
• while the launched plurality of modular flotation elements are in the body of water, operatively coupling together the launched plurality of modular flotation elements to form an annulus;
• operatively coupling the modular protective harbor wall and the modular flotation support using a telescoping connection to create a submersible modular protective harbor structure;
• and
• moving the submersible modular protective harbor structure to the site of operations,
• wherein:
• the annulus is sized to receive an offshore vessel, and the modular protective harbor wall is constructed and arranged to allow entry and exit of the offshore vessel to and from the annulus;
• and
• the modular protective harbor wall is open at the top and the bottom.