Global engineering company Cavotec offers, among its many
products and solutions, the MoorMasterTM vacuum mooring
technology. The MoorMasterTM helps make ports safer and more
efficient. Using vacuum pads, it eliminates the need for ropes and
mooring lines that have been used for thousands of years — an
innovation that makes mooring safer for both shore-based and
ship crews.
Cavotec is currently working on a project to install eight
MoorMasterTM vacuum mooring units for Hammersley Iron Pty
Ltd, a subsidiary of Anglo–Australian mining group Rio Tinto, at
the Dampier Fuel Wharf, located on the eastern end of the
Parker Point ore wharf, in the Port of Dampier, Western
Australia.
“The Dampier Fuel Wharf project presents a challenging array
of demands that the Cavotec team, in close co-ordination with
the customer, are tackling. This flourishing joint effort marks a
watershed in the continuing development of the MoorMasterTM
technology,” says Cavotec MSL CEO, Ottonel Popesco.
MoorMasterTM counteracts vessel surge in port caused by
changes in wave dynamics. The primary advantage
MoorMaster™ offers over traditional mooring techniques is
enhanced safety for shore-side personnel and ship crews.
The eight MoorMaster™ MM200D units for the Dampier Fuel
Wharf will be rail-mounted and integrated into the face of the
berth. Each unit will have a capacity of 20 tonnes, and will be
able to complete vessel mooring in less than 30 seconds and
disengage in less than 10 seconds.
“The onus is now on us to demonstrate the substantial safety
and operational benefits of this version of MoorMasterTM at the
Dampier Fuel Wharf,” says Mike Howie, Cavotec MoorMaster™
technology manager.
Located some 1,600km north of Perth, Dampier Port consists
of the Parker Point facility and the East Intercourse Island facility.
This project is Cavotec’s second major MoorMasterTM installation
in Western Australia. In April 2009, Cavotec won a contract to
supply 14 MM200B (Bulk) units to the nearby Port Hedland Port
Authority’s iron ore facility.
Different versions of the MoorMasterTM system are currently
operated by Searoad Shipping Australia, for its Ro-Ro ferry
service between Melbourne and Tasmania; by APM Terminals’
container facility at the Port of Salalah in Oman, and on three
high-frequency ferry routes in Denmark, operated by Nordic
Ferry Services A/S.
Canada’s St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation
(SLSMC) operates four MoorMasterTM units where they operate
with changes in water level of up to 14m.