The OceanNet buoy is a 5.2 meter diameter, 10 meter high double-hulled hybrid design with an added keel to aid in stability and weighs ~110,000 pounds, fully loaded with fuel. It has high excess (reserve) buoyancy, like a discus buoy, so that it tends to remain on the surface. The buoy also has a long keel, similar to a spar buoy, so that its motion in roll (pitch) is somewhat decoupled from the wave motion. There are four main sections of the buoy.

1. Radome - contains the INTELSAT antenna system mounted in a pressurized chamber atop a steel pipe tower 5m in height and 1m diameter.
2. Upper tower - an entryway to the buoy; joining the top of the tower to the perimeter of the buoy's deck is a conical shroud which reduces wind drag, risk of capsizing due to high seas and ice build-up.
3. Super structure - contains a diesel generator room and an environmentally controlled equipment room.
4. Keel - ~2m diameter, contains three fuel bladders (~5000 gallons of fuel) and the 20,000 pounds keel weight; as fuel in the bladders is depleted, the void is occupied by seawater.