Autoanchor
Deployment of the system
A Moormaster 400 system at the Port of Melbourne (Click to enlarge)
The first vessel to be equipped with the system was the Cook Strait Ferry Aratere. In 1998, the brand-new vessel was fitted with four vacuum pads rated at 20 tonnes each – enough to lift a three bedroom house.
More than 12,000 automatic moorings on, the system is still working as new. The Aratere has docked under all conditions since the installation, without using traditional rope back-up, providing ferry-operator Tranz Rail with large savings in annual operating costs.
The “IronSailor” units were positioned in pairs, with two units forward on the 150 metre vessel and two units aft. The units are activated from the bridge wing and extend out, through protective hull doors, to attach to the steel quay plates installed at the Wellington and Picton ferry terminals. To allow for free vertical movement and accommodate tidal and wave movement, the quay plates are attached to the wharves via a counterweight and float arrangements.
The beauty of the system, Mr Montgomery says, is that it uses well-proven technology: “All we did was use a range of different engineering principles and components and combine them for a new purpose.”
Developing the system involved seeking help from a number of local engineering and manufacturing companies.
