Blog post -
MoorMaster™ wins vacuum innovation award
Cavotec's innovative MoorMaster™ automated mooring technology has won the Busch Vacuum Innovation Award 2015, for its use of Busch vacuum technology, the latest in a series of industry awards for MoorMaster™.
The Busch Vacuum Innovation Award recognises the work of companies and individuals who "have contributed vacuum technology innovations of particular value to mankind and the environment."
The presentation was made at the headquarters of the Busch group in Germany, by Dr. Karl Busch. The first Busch Vacuum Innovation Award was presented in 2013, at the company's 50th anniversary celebrations.
MoorMaster™ units incorporate hydraulic pumps and Mink claw vacuum pumps manufactured by Busch. An electronic control system monitors ship movement due to tide, draft changes, currents, waves or wind, and compensates using a sophisticated hydraulic system, thereby holding vessels securely in place.
MoorMaster™ is a vacuum-based automated mooring technology that eliminates the need for conventional mooring lines. Remote controlled vacuum pads recessed in, or mounted on the quayside or pontoons, moor and release vessels in seconds.
Use of the technology removes hazardous mooring lines from the mooring process, and cuts the time taken to moor vessels from up to 90 minutes to a matter of seconds. In some applications, the introduction of MoorMaster™ has even resulted in infrastructure savings.
To date, 200 MoorMaster™ units are installed at 28 locations around the world and have completed more than 130,000 mooring operations at Ro/Ro, container, bulk handling and lock applications.
Earlier this year, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation was awarded an OECD innovation award for its use of MoorMaster™ throughout the Canadian side of the lock system.
