Device for mooring a floating installation to an anchored offshore installation

A device for mooring a floating installation to an offshore structure of positive buoyancy connected to a stationary point of the water bottom, the offshore structure of positive buoyancy having over at least a portion of its length a cylindrical outer surface of vertical axis, the device comprising:

• a rigid connecting arm articulated to the floating installation about a substantially horizontal axis;
• roller means provided on said rigid connecting arm, said roller means comprising at least two assemblies of at least two substantially coplanar wheels having axes of rotation substantially orthogonal to the axis of articulation of said connecting arm, said at least two assemblies being located at separate levels of the offshore structure of positive buoyancy and at a distance from each other, and each one of said at least two wheels located on each side of the longitudinal axis of said connecting arm;
• and
• coupling means for maintaining said roller means in contact with said offshore structure of positive buoyancy on a rolling path carried on said offshore structure of positive buoyancy, for permitting relative rotation of said connecting arm and said offshore structure of positive buoyancy about the vertical axis, said coupling means comprising at least one pulley means carried by said connecting arm and having an axis of rotation parallel to the axes of rotation of said wheels, at least one belt means forming a closed loop passing around said pulley means and said offshore structure of positive buoyancy, and stretching means for stretching said belt means.