First Cavotec MoorMasters™ in Scandinavia enter service with Nordic Ferry Services
Global engineering group, Cavotec MSL, has successfully completed commissioning of Scandinavia’s first fully automated vacuum-based mooring system, MoorMaster™, with Danish ferry operator Nordic Ferry Services (NFS).
“We have delivered a safe, efficient and advanced mooring solution that provides our customer with quicker turn-around times and a safer environment for both port personnel and vessel crews,” says, Cavotec MoorMaster™ Group Product Manager, Jakob Tolsgaard. MoorMaster™ is a vacuum-based automated mooring technology that moors vessels in seconds, eliminating the need for conventional mooring lines. The system counteracts vessel surge in port caused by changes in wave dynamics. The NFS installation includes two MoorMaster™ units in the port of Hov on the Danish mainland, Jutland, and a further two across the Århus Bugt at Saelvig Port on the island of Samsoe. The units will perform between six and eight mooring operations a day throughout the year. NFS has a further eight MoorMaster™ units on order due for installation at other Danish ports. Designed to meet the specific conditions at Hov and Saelvig, each of the MoorMaster™ units has a holding capacity of 400K/N. Each set of twin units is capable of holding vessels in place in wind speeds of up to 24m/s. The Hov-Saelvig route is served by the new-build passenger ferry Kanhave. Built in Greece, the Kanhave has a capacity of 600 passengers and 110 vehicles. As with all MoorMaster™ installations, the units are fully automated: running system status checks, and ‘arming’, or preparing to moor, as radio signals activate the units as vessels approach from a distance of up to one kilometer. Cameras mounted on the side of the vessel also allow the captain to closely monitor the position of the ship throughout mooring. The master of the vessel has to press just two buttons throughout the entire process. Operators are able to choose from a hand-held remote unit from the bridge wing, or from a unit located on the bridge. The units remain active once a vessel leaves port in the event a ship needs to return to port, and after a set time the units return to ‘sleep’ mode. “We are encouraged to see how customers are prepared to trust this advanced technology and focus on innovation,” says Tolsgaard. “There are several other operators interested in MoorMaster™; other ferry operators as well as more industrial shipping lines,” he adds. Adopting MoorMaster™ at Saelvig has saved the port operator substantial expenditure on infrastructure improvements. MoorMaster™ allows the port to increase capacity without the expense and inconvenience of extending the quayside: an operation that would have also reduced access to the port for other vessels. In April Cavotec announced the largest ever order for MoorMaster™ for the Port Hedland Port Authority (PHPA) in Western Australia. The PHPA deal follows the announcement that Canada’s St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) ordered two additional MoorMaster™ units. The SLSMC MoorMasters™ are specially designed for use in the Seaway where the units will deal with water level variations of up to 14 meters.
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