Although autonomous, uncrewed ships are now being trialled, those vessels still need human workers to moor them when they come into port. That could soon change, however, thanks to a new automated suction-based mooring system.
Ordinarily, ships are secured to piers via thick ropes known as mooring lines or hawsers. One end of each line is tied to a fitting on the deck of the vessel, while the other end is tied to a cleat or other fitting on the pier. Teams of workers are required to run, tie and release those lines.
Developed by Dr. Yongjin Kim and colleagues at The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM), the new system is designed to serve as an alternative to such teams and mooring lines. It could find use on fully- or partially-automated piers.
The mooring process starts with a tugboat guiding the ship into the harbor, where it comes to rest against a row of fenders (shock-absorbing bumpers) along the side of the pier. Once the ship has done so, a steel pad extends out from a pier-side mooring module – there will actually be several such modules, spaced along the length of the vessel.
The pad contains an array of rubber suction cups, which press up against the ship's hull. Once they do so, an integrated hydraulic system creates a vacuum inside each of the cups, adhering them to the vessel.
Both the adjustable-angle pad and the hydraulic system can move vertically and horizontally relative to the pier, allowing them to adjust to the hull angle of each ship, and to move with the vessel as the tide rises and falls. In order to maintain a good seal, the hydraulic system reapplies the vacuum once an hour. When it's time for the ship to leave, the seal is released and the pad is withdrawn.
Real-world testing of the system is planned to take place next year, followed by commercialization of the technology.
"This automated mooring system represents a key advancement in the safe docking of autonomous vessels and will play a pivotal role in the development of smart port infrastructure," says Kim. "We expect this solution to set a new standard in operational safety and efficiency across the marine industry."
Source: KIMM
