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AssigneeFlibe Energy, Inc.
InventorsKirk Frederick Sorensen, Todd Reynolds Greene
Estimating the term…
A powership with a submersible vessel-interfacing friction deck for translocating a customer vessel is provided. The powership can include one or more podded propulsors and a power source, and include a deck with high coefficient of friction configured to interface with a customer vessel. The friction deck is configured to contact a customer vessel to form a nonpermanent coupling sufficient to impart thrust from the powership to the customer vessel. The coupling is maintained through a friction force enabled by the normal force exerted by buoyancy of the powership, where the friction force exceeds an applied thrust force of the one or more podded propulsors. The powership can have alternative power sources, such as nuclear power, electric power, and other suitable sources. Powerships of the present disclosure can reduce the complexity and expense of applying nuclear power to commercial vessels temporarily coupling to a customer vessel for long-haul ocean transport.
A powership for translocating a marine vessel, the powership comprising:
A method of translocating a marine vessel with a powership, the powership having a submersible dry dock having a friction surface, a power source, at least one propulsor operably coupled to the power source, and a ballast cavity, the method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.