Ship mooring buoy

A Single buoy mooring (SBM) (also known as single-point mooring or SPM) is a loading buoy anchored offshore, that serves as a mooring point and interconnect for tankers loading or offloading gas or liquid products. SPMs are the link between geostatic subsea manifold connections and weathervaning tankers. They are capable of handling any size ship, even very large crude carriers (VLCC) where no alternative facility is available.
Parts
There are four parts in the total buoying system: the body of the buoy, mooring and anchoring elements, product transfer system and other components. All these parts are equally important.
Buoy body
The buoy body usually is supported on static legs attached to the seabed, with a rotating part above water level connected to the (off)loading tanker. The two sections are linked by a roller bearing, referred to as the "main bearing". The moored tanker can freely weathervane around the buoy and find a stable position due to this arrangement.

Ship mooring buoy