Auto-Mooring System Could Mean Quicker Bunkering

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday July 14, 2014

A new auto-mooring system could help speed the bunkering process by allowing bunkering tanks to be moored alongside other vessels quickly and safely, industry news site Maritime Journal reports.

The Docklock system, from Mampaey Offshore Industries, uses dual mooring arms with connection pads that can firmly attach to a hull at the bow and stern and then "walk" along the surface to accommodate changes in level.

The system, which the company developed for bunker tanker operator VT Group, promises to moor vessels quickly while adapting to changing conditions.

The Port of Rotterdam said in March that a DockLock system prototype was being tested on a VT Group bunker vessel, suggesting a possible new trend in mooring of using magnetic mooring pads in bunkering operations.