Apr 24, 2009 2:19 PM

Vacuum system pulls ships into dock

A new naval system is being deployed which is claimed to be able to moor huge ships in just seconds and with only one person operating it.

The MoorMaster is a vacuum-based automated mooring system, designed by Cavotec, a New Zealand-based engineering company. It began developing the system 12 years ago, but is now building its first system that works underwater.

The MM200B is therefore the first that's suitable for docks where there are significant changes in tide levels.

Fourteen of the new units have been commissioned by the Port Hedland Port Authority in Western Australia, where they will be used at the port’s iron ore loading facility.

Cavotec says that these units have to be its "toughest yet" as they will be pounded constantly by “fine, but abrasive iron ore dust, falling rocks and seawater”. During the cyclone season, which runs from November to the end of February, seawater sprays and winds will blast the systems at speeds of up to 200mph.

However, it's the less dramatic threat of the tide that posed the biggest problem for the engineers, as water levels can vary by as much as five metres.

The system works using vacuum and hydraulic technologies. Large vacuum pads stick to ships’ hulls with the help of a mechanical arm that can move through three axes simultaneously, pulling the vessel into place. As it works, it continuously compensates for the ship's motion and automatically adjusts its position.

There is theoretically no limit to the size of the ship that the system can moor, the company says.

“MoorMaster completely changes the whole method of mooring that has remained unaltered for thousands of years,” Mike Howie, the company's technology manager, says.

Conventional mooring lines will actually store energy from vessel movement. If this energy builds up and creates sufficient pressure, the ropes can snap and recoil. This can injure crew on both the vessel and on the shore. MoorMaster is designed to stop the vessel from moving at all.

Traditional methods can take around 45 minutes to moor a ship, and Cavotec says that its system is able to moor a vessel in less than 20 seconds. This means that ships can shut off their engines more quickly, saving fuel.

The first systems, all of which only operate above the water line, were installed on a ferry route between Wellington and Picton, in New Zealand, in 1999. There are also systems working in Australia, Oman and on three high-frequency ferry routes in Denmark.

In June 2005, Cavotec trailed the MoorMaster 800 in the Port of Dover. This system is said to be the world’s most powerful automated mooring unit and performed 750 successful mooring operations. However, a permanent system has yet to be installed in the UK.

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This article was originally published by WIRED UK