System and method for raising sunken vessels

A system for raising a sunken vessel lying at the bottom of a body of water, comprising, in combination:

• source of liquefied cryogenic fluid,
• cryogenic means positioned proximate said sunken vessel, and
• means for transferring, said liquefied cryogenic fluid from said source to said cryogenic means, said cryogenic means being for forming an ice mass integral with said sunken vessel upon receipt of said liquefied cryogenic fluid, whereby the sunken vessel is raised to the surface of the water by the force of the buoyancy of the ice,
• said cryogenic means comprising cryogenic piping held in close proximity to, and running substantially along the length of the vessel, and further comprising cryogenic pipes which are shaped for delivering said fluid along the length of the vessel and to the lower outside of the vessel that is close to the bottom's surface, with minimum penetration of said bottom surface, and
• said cryogenic means further comprising inner cryogenic piping apparatus extended within an inner space of the sunken vessel and adapted for delivering said fluid to the inner space,
• means for expelling vapor products of the fluid from the inner space adapted for expelling said vapor in a manner which the means will not expel the greater mass of the water contained in the region in which the inner cryogenic piping is extended,
• a sufficient quantity of fluid delivered by said cryogenic pipings to form the greater portion of water contained in the region in to which it is extended into ice, as well as a sufficient volume of water outside the vessel into an ice mass encapsulating a substantial portion of the length of the vessel, simultaneously so that the vessel is raised to the surface of the water by the force of the bouyancy of the total ice mass thus formed.