Automated mooring substantially cuts vessel emissions: report

A new report demonstrates how automated mooring system (AMS) makes substantial reductions in CO2 emissions from ferries during mooring operations.

The June 2018 report, entitled Reduction in CO2 emissions in RoRo/Pax ports equipped with automatic mooring systems, was compiled by members of the Ocean and Coastal Planning and Management R&D Group at the University of Cantabria, Spain, and the department of Sciences and Techniques of Navigation and Shipbuilding, School of Nautical Studies of Santander, also in Spain. It is available to buy here.

The report's key findings include:

• Use of AMS considerably reduces emissions of CO2, with estimates of reductions as high as 97 per cent at RoRo/Pax terminals.
• Nordic countries contribute most to reductions in CO2 emissions with the use of AMS.
• AMS reduces the time it takes to moor vessels in port.

"These devices, which help to reduce considerably the time required to perform the mooring and unmooring manoeuvres [...] from some tens of minutes to a few seconds," the report's authors say. 

Cavotec's automated mooring system, MoorMaster™, is the world's leading automated mooring technology, and was the system studied in the report. 

In recent years, Cavotec has integrated MoorMaster™ with electrical charging interface technologies for hybrid and electric ferries. MoorMaster™ enables the rapid mooring required for hybrid and electric ferries to charge vessel batteries during brief port calls ahead of subsequent sailings. These systems are being introduced at a growing number of berths in Norway, Finland, and Sweden, with interest growing in the technology in the region and beyond.

In this context, MoorMaster™ is an effective tool to support the achievement of International Maritime Organization goals to reduce emissions from shipping by at least 50 percent from 2008 levels by 2050. For example, MoorMaster™ was included in the 2018 UN Global Opportunity Report that highlights how "innovative technologies are making genuine progress towards a more sustainable world."

To date, more than 323 MoorMaster™ units have performed some 400,000 moorings at ferry, bulk and container handling, as well as lock and ship-to-ship applications worldwide.