Removable anchor having retrievable ballast

A retrievable anchor for a floating vessel, comprising:

• a ballast chain having a density greater than water;
• means secured to said vessel floating on a body of water for lowering and raising said chain;
• enclosure means positionable on the subsea bottom for containing said chain lowered into said enclosure means, so that the combined weight of said ballast chain and said enclosure means form a fixity for anchoring said vessel;
• first locking means secured to said vessel and second locking means secured to said enclosure means, said first and second locking means used to secure said chain so that a portion of said chan is a link between said enclosure means and said vessel.

A retrievable anchor for a floating vessel, comprising:

• a ballast chain having a density greater than water;
• means secured to said vessel floating on a body of water for lowering and raising said chain;
• enclosure means positionable on the sea bottom for containing said chain lowered into said enclosure means, so that the combined weight of said ballast chain and said enclosure means form a fixity for anchoring said vessel;
• first locking means secured to said vessel and second locking means secured to said enclosure means;
• and
• a pendant attached between said first and said second locking means, said pendant used to retrieve said chain so as to lighten said enclosure means prior to retrieving said enclosure means from the sea bottom.

The retrievable anchor for a floating vessel comprising:

• a ballast chain having a density greater than water;
• means secured to said vessel floating on a body of water for lowering and raising said chain;
• enclosure means positionable on the water bottom for containing said chain lowered into said enclosure means, so that said chain and said enclosure means form a fixity for anchoring said vessel connected to said enclosure means;
• a source of fluid for preventing corrosion and marine life formation on said chain;
• and
• conveying means for fluid flow from said source of fluid to said enclosure means, said conveying means for fluid flow connected to said source of fluid and locatable in said enclosure means.

A retrievable anchor for a tension leg platform in a body of water having tensioned cables secured to said anchor, comprising:

• said platform having buoyancy chambers secured to said platform;
• a wildcat secured within said buoyancy chambers;
• a chain having two ends and a density greater than water, said chain passing over said wildcat for subsequent lowering,
• an enclosure having adjustably buoyant chambers;
• one end of said chain connected to said buoyancy chambers, the other end of said chain connected to said enclosure, so that said chain after passing over said wildcat fills said enclosure as ballast;
• a pendant used to remove said chain from said enclosure when desired;
• first locking means secured to said platform, said pendant attached at one end to said chain, the other end of said pendant attached to said first locking means;
• and
• second locking means secured to said enclosure so that the lower end of said pendant is connectable to said second locking means.

A method of lowering a retrievable anchor for a marine vessel, comprising the steps of:

• lowering an enclosure means to the bottom of a body of water and aligning ballast chain in the enclosure means to obtain sufficient ballast in said enclosure means to provide a fixity to moor said vessel;
• tensioning said ballast chain to avoid entanglement with nearby objects while lowering said chain into said enclosure means;
• connecting said chain to a pendant when sufficient ballast in said enclosure means is obtained to provide a fixity to moor said vessel;
• securing said pendant to said enclosure means;
• connecting the pendant to a locking means secured to said vessel;
• and
• tensioning said pendant to avoid entanglement with nearby objects.

A method of lowering a retrievable anchor for a marine vessel comprising the steps of:

• lowering an enclosure means to the bottom of a body of water and aligning ballast chain in said enclosure means to obtain sufficient ballast in said enclosure means to provide a fixity to moor said vessel;
• connecting a conduit to a source of fluid for preventing marine growth and corrosion of said chain;
• lowering said conduit into said enclosure means;
• allowing the fluid to flow into the enclosure means through said conduit;
• and
• terminating fluid flow through said conduit when the desired amount of fluid is in said enclosure means.

The method of lowering a retrievable anchor, from a vessel comprising the steps of:

• lowering a ballast chain connected to an anchor shell into the anchor shell to obtain sufficient ballast in order to overcome the shell's buoyancy for subsequent shell lowering;
• connecting said ballast chain to a pendant;
• connecting the upper end of said pendant to a locking means secured to said vessel;
• locking the lower end of said pendant to said shell;
• tensioning said chain to avoid entanglement with nearby objects;
• connecting a conduit to a source of fluid for preventing marine growth and corrosion;
• lowering said conduit into said anchor shell;
• allowing the fluid to flow through said conduit into the anchor shell;
• and
• terminating fluid flow when the desired amount of fluid is in said anchor shell.

A method of raising a retrievable anchor of the type having an anchor shell containing sufficient ballast chain to provide ballast to said shell to function as an anchor, said ballast chain connected to said shell and a pendant, said pendant being connected to a locking means on a floating vessel and said shell, comprising the steps of:

• raising said pendant so that said pendant, said ballast chain and said shell are raised to said vessel;
• storing said ballast chain when said ballast chain is raised to said vessel;
• and
• storing said anchor shell when said shell is raised by said pendant and said ballast chain to said vessel.

A method of raising a retrievable anchor connected to a floating vessel, said anchor having an anchor shell located on the sea bottom, said shell containing sufficient ballast chain with a density greater than water to provide sufficient ballast to said shell to function as an anchor, said shell having a conveying means for fluid flow of a biodegradable fluid that prevents marine growth and corrosion to said ballast chain, comprising the steps of:

• raising to said floating vessel said conveying means;
• storing said conveying means in said vessel;
• raising to said vessel a pendant connected to said ballast chain, said ballast chain being connected to said anchor shell so that said ballast chain and anchor shell are raised to said vessel;
• and
• storing said pendant, ballast chain and shell on said vessel.