In a fiercely competitive market, leading fender manufacturers are stressing the importance of not indulging the false economy of sacrificing quality for a reduced initial outlay. Trelleborg Marine Systems recently announced the findings of its second Barometer report, compiled in association with Lloyd’s List, which uncovered some contradictory attitudes within the market. The annual report surveys port operators, owners and contractors’ views on different facets of the commercial ports, harbours and terminals industry. While a large majority of 81% stated that they believe optimised port safety directly contributes to reduced costs, a quarter reported that they are concerned solely with price – and not where the product comes from – when procuring fender technology. Despite the report reflecting that operators understand the importance of port safety, it also found that only 9% expected future investments to be made in this area – however Trelleborg states that the findings also suggest that integrated or full service docking and mooring equipment solutions are what the maritime industry is asking for. Given the option of areas in which they anticipate future port investments, 41% replied ‘all of the above’ given choices such as ‘safety’, ‘efficiency’, ‘capability’ and ‘capacity’. Significantly, the report also uncovered a need for updated industry guidelines and stricter enforcement of industry standards. This is echoed by the fender manufacturers. Indian-headquartered company IRM Offshore and Marine Engineers states that the “mushroom growth” in the number of fender manufacturing companies in recent years, particularly in China, has exponentially increased competition in the market, but simultaneously driven down quality. “This is mainly as most of the manufacturers just make a replica of fenders where the product looks like a fender but does not perform like a fender,” Sukhvinder Singh, Senior Manager of Marketing and Operations, explains. “Moreover, the understanding of the right kind of product and its quality at some places is still at an adolescenct stage, which leads to unfair competition and does not allow like-for-like comparison.” QuayQuip, which has its headquarters in the UK, adds that, when contractors have the final say, the up-front price tends to outweigh considerations of whole-life costs. This can result in later problems when cheaper systems threaten safety or port efficiency.Trelleborg states that its research has found that PIANC’s 2002 ‘Guidelines for the design of fender systems’, intended to ensure high standards across the industry, are not being met by low-cost traders “who lack the technical capability of their manufacturing counterparts.” This desire from sections of the port operations industry to keep fender procurement prices low has been exacerbated by inconsistent, rising rubber prices over the past four years, IRM states. This has resulted in manufacturers chasing voluminous order levels to make the most of slender profit margins, it argues.
Tackling challenges
While the fender market is not without its problems, then, there are also positive developments and attitudes on which WPD can report. Larger, leading manufacturers remain focused on how to improve the market, rather than dwelling on its drawbacks. While there are operators and contractors around the world that choose a low initial outlay above a sound, sustainable investment, fenders are still a primary consideration in the infrastructure of port operations. “QuayQuip prefers to concentrate on the larger, more complex jobs where only a few manufacturers can make the running,” says Rob Gabbitas of SystemFender Consulting and QuayQuip. “Even at the top of the market, designers can’t afford to ignore price. But properly integrated designs, painstaking engineering, safety, and the ability to meet specs and delivery times usually come first.” On such larger projects, the manufacturer states that the ‘commoditisation’ of fenders is less of a concern, with systems built to work to a performance specification, rather than delivering an initial discount. IRM adds that stringent port and government safety precautions usually mean that fenders are generally not an ‘after-thought’ in port infrastructure. And, while the reduced costs in initial outlay may seem attractive and influence decisions, we can return to QuayQuip’s earlier observation that this perspective is something of a false economy.
Growing pains
A further finding of Trelleborg’s Barometer report was that more than half of the respondents did not believe commercial ports have the adequate infrastructure in place to manage the increase in the sizes of vessels visiting terminals. Only a quarter of those surveyed stated that they think commercial ports can safely manage these larger vessels. Richard Hepworth, Managing Director of Trelleborg Marine Systems, said of the survey results: “This very much evidences the issues around larger vessel sizes, which have been steadily on the increase since the 1970s. Some ports have been slow to upgrade their infrastructure, but there has been a definite increase in enquiries and orders for the new breed of ‘super-sized’ fenders designed to tackle greater load-bearing requirements. The principle of ‘bigger fenders for bigger ships’ certainly rings true.” There’s plenty of confidence among manufacturers that they can provide more than adequate fender solutions to deal with these vessels if called upon. IRM believes that a balance of the correct design skills and manufacturing expertise can result in fenders that are ready to deal with post-Panamax and New Panamax ships. QuayQuip states that it has to take a proactive, responsive approach to meet the specific needs of customers. Its reasoning is that new generations of container ships may not behave exactly as the guidelines predict. For example, short, parallel mid-bodies may make contact with the berth at different points, while wider vessels will leave less room for passing ships, resulting in pulse waves that can move the vessel against and along the berth, affecting or hampering operations. The manufacturer states that mooring and fendering standards should keep pace with vessel developments, and much greater attention should be paid to mooring analysis and modelling port structures.
Design and development
Trelleborg identifies that upgrading outdated fender systems can be problematic in causing downtime, particularly in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector. On a recent project fast-track project for Qatargas Engineering and Construction Company WLL, Trelleborg needed to upgrade an existing berthing structure, originally designed for vessels with a displacement of around 110,000 tonnes, to facilitate berthing of larger Q-Flex vessels, with a displacement of around 150,000 tonnes. The fender solutions provider recommended the parallel motion fender system as it can offer 60% greater energy absorption than a conventional fender system, without increasing the resultant reaction load on the jetty structure. This, the manufacturer states, provided Qatargas with the benefit of being able to berth larger vessels in an existing dock, without the need to strengthen the jetty structure. The fender system was installed in just four days, thereby minimising the downtime of the berth and allowing daily operations to continue with minimum disruption. According to Trelleborg Marine Systems, this exemplifies the potential for commercial ports to quickly upgrade their infrastructure to support increased vessel sizes, and the potential to do so with the minimum of disruption. States the manufacturer: “With options like this available, it’s important that commercial ports make the investment needed now to accommodate increased larger, heavier vessels. Not only will it help prevent costly downtime, but minimise maintenance and whole-life costs.” In terms of design, QuayQuip uses empirical calculations during the early stages. The real advances of this are found in integrated fender design where s
olid modelling, finite-element (FE) analysis and full-scale testing are regular tools. Considering the fender system and its supporting structure in equal detail allows both to be made stronger, longer-lasting and far more reliable, the manufacturer states. One of the features of QuayQuip’s next generation of fender solutions is the ‘Flat Pack Port’, whereby fenders, mooring and ship hauling are combined into a single structure, designed for fast construction and delivery to remote sites. The manufacturer boasts that new designs have simplified warping along berths down to ‘the push of a button’, and lowered costs of cranes and shiploaders. Its “advanced cones” offer a performance tolerance as low as ±5% in many cases, with QCN fender designs dealing with water-filling and hydraulic locking, which it boasts many other firms “have yet to consider.” Addressing advancements in fender technology, IRM notes how much the market has changed in its four-plus decades of experience. Looking at case studies, the company highlights that pneumatic fenders of large sizes like 4.5×9 meters can present serious price issues in terms of handling and transportation. Loading and unloading materials into containers at the client’s site can result in the breakage of pallets or damage to the fenders. To overcome this problem on an order to Qatar Petroleum for fenders of this size, IRM dispatched the units in a deflated condition and totally dismantled the chain and tyre net. The fenders were then assembled at the client’s site with a minimal amount of workers under the supervision of IRM, reducing the hassle and cost of material handling. Trelleborg Marine Systems says that the completion in May of the 175million cubic-meter-per-day Escobar LNG terminal in Argentina is a prime case study of its ability to provide speedy fender enhancement. The terminal build included the adoption of advanced mooring equipment to ensure ship and terminal safety during critical gas discharge operations, using Trelleborg Quick Release Hooks (QRHs) with Remote Release and SmartHook Load Monitoring systems. The 125-hectare terminal, with four docking dolphins and a berthing tower, features a floating ‘regasification’ unit which offers the versatility of liquid transfer or high pressure gas discharge via a high pressure gas manifold. This, the manufacturer claims, allows direct gas supply into the Argentine gas infrastructure, when stocks are required urgently, or unloading as liquid for storage against future demand.
Trelleborg boasts that QRHs are the cornerstone of any advanced integrated mooring system – providing solid, reliable anchor points, while allowing release of each mooring line without manual intervention, even under tension. Six different QRH systems were used at Escobar, with hook capacities of between 75 and 100 tons, in triple and quadruple versions with capstans. Further to this, Trelleborg claims that the safety of the QHRs is enhanced by its Electric Release system, which can be operated from a remote location when the vessel is leaving a berth or in an emergency. Four-way control redundancy enables release either from the control room, via button or a remote console screen, or at the quayside via a button located on the actuator box or using the manual release lever at the hook. The systems also incorporate a fail-safe arming mechanism protected by a key switch to ensure no unauthorised remote release. On each of the QRH hooks, a Trelleborg SmartHook load monitoring system integrates the safety of mooring conditions with individual line tensions. An in-built load cell provides real-time surveillance of line tensions to the jetty control room, with on-screen warning to the control room, and via a high-intensity light and siren warning from the hook point on the jetty. Load tension data also provides ongoing information about mooring conditions and practice, for essential feedback on jetty efficiency and safety.
Findding the key
While some of the trends within the fender market appear alarming and a need for tighter regulation may be required, the recognition of, and discourse about, these issues is encouraging. Equally so, the dedication of the manufacturers to which WPD spoke for this article to adapt to changing vessel sizes and industry requirements is impressive. There’s an emphasis on delivering upgraded systems quickly and efficiently, minimising downtime while moving into the next generation of maritime commerce. The key to finding the right solutions is properly identifying the problems – and on that basis, the fender industry is in buoyant, if not perfect, form.