MoorMaster is a vacuum-based automated mooring technology that eliminates the need for conventional mooring lines. Remote-controlled vacuum pads recessed in, or mounted on the quayside or pontoons, moor and release vessels in seconds.
Some 200 MoorMaster™ units, installed at 28 locations worldwide, have completed the 200,000 mooring operations at RO/RO, container and bulk handling, and lock applications; and in doing so have made mooring operations safer, more efficient, and even more environmentally sustainable.
Since its introduction in New Zealand in 1998, the award-winning technology has been steadily introduced at a variety of applications around the world including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, South Africa, the UK, and the United States.
Elsewhere, specially adapted MoorMaster™ units recently completed At Sea Demonstrations for a project with the US Navy, and we are also working on ATEX, (explosion proof), approved MoorMaster™ systems, potentially for use at LNG berths.
Two of the three applications in Norway combines our Automatic Plug-in System and one of our shore power units to automatically moor and then charge the battery power unit of a passenger and vehicle ferry – the first system of its kind anywhere in the world, powering the world’s first battery powered passenger ferry.
And in another recent development for MoorMaster™, Cavotec and global marine and energy services group Wärtsilä are to jointly develop the world’s first combined induction charging and automated mooring concept.
MoorMaster™ holds vessels off the berth producing a reduction in fender wear and tear. The system can also be used to reposition vessels along the berth without the need for tugs, mooring gangs, a pilot or vessels’ propulsion – resulting in operational improvements and reduced emissions. In some cases, the introduction of MoorMaster™ has also meant that operators have not needed to extend berth infrastructure.
Crucially, removing lines from the mooring process also makes mooring significantly safer for ship- and shoreside personnel.
As vessels are secured in a matter of seconds, compared to up to an hour with conventional techniques, MoorMaster™ also delivers significant operational efficiency gains. This also reduces the use of tugs, which also helps reduce emissions. As MoorMaster™ goes from strength to strength, we look forward to developing and adapting this extraordinary technology further to make mooring ships safer, quicker, and more efficient.