Cavotec wins major MoorMaster service contract in Western Australia

A decade after installing MoorMaster™ automated vacuum mooring at an iron ore berth in Western Australia, Pilbara Ports Authority has now selected Cavotec to secure availability and extend lifetime of its mooring system.

After a steady growth in annualized portfolio value of service contracts in 2020, Cavotec has continued to book a number of new contracts in the first quarter of 2021, one of them is with the Pilbara Ports Authority.

Cavotec will maintain and upgrade the MoorMaster system over the coming four years. The modular design of MoorMaster systems allows Pilbara Ports Authority to continue using the system even as one unit at a time is serviced, thereby maximizing availability.

“We are very proud of the renewed confidence of the Pilbara Port Authority to secure the performance of this mission critical system for their operations. This contract is a perfect example of how we can support our customers throughout our products’ lifetimes with services tailored to their individual needs,“ says Patrick Baudin, President Cavotec Services Division.

An iron ore terminal is an extremely challenging environment for all types of equipment and Cavotec’s innovative MoorMaster technology has consistently delivered outstanding performance over the past decade.

Pilbara Ports Authority installed MoorMaster at the Utah Point Berth at Port Hedland, Western Australia in 2010. The system was first introduced to handle larger vessels without extending the existing berth. In addition, the system increases safety by removing mooring lines under tension and saves time in mooring – maximizing loading times at the tidally constrained berth. The MoorMaster system is designed for the harsh conditions at the port with large amounts of fine iron ore dust, seven-metre tides, and extreme heat.

MoorMaster™ eliminates the need for conventional mooring lines by replacing them with automated vacuum pads that moor and release vessels in seconds. Its patent-protected Active Control™ technology minimises vessel motion, thereby drastically improving port productivity. Two decades after the first system entered service, MoorMaster is still the only proven and widely used vacuum mooring technology at bulk, container handling, lock, Ro/Ro, and ship-to-ship applications. Learn more at cavotec.com/moormaster.