Sweden’s port of Kapellskär welcomed the new Finnlines Ro-Ro vessel with cutting-edge technology. The port, included in the Ports of Stockholm, currently has vacuum pad automooring as well as next-generation onshore power connections.
The premier of Sweden’s first automooring of a vessel using vacuum technology was in mid-September with the brand new Finnlines vessel Finnsirius, which operates on the Kapellskär – Långnäs – Naantali route, docking using vacuum pads.
The pads can dock and undock the vessel in less than 30 and 15 seconds, respectively.
While the port of Kapellskär can handle only freight and passenger traffic, a Ports of Stockholm representative told Container News that the method is also applicable to container terminals. “It is merely a question of the number of mooring units and enough suitable strong and flat areas for fastening (suction to) the ships’ sides,” he noted.
As the quay in Kapellskär only serves RoRo traffic, no container ship is scheduled so far to arrive at Stockholm Ports that can be anchored using the vacuum pads technology.
However, the Ports of Stockholm official said that “after evaluating the operation of this system we might look into the possibility of investing in it on other quays in our Ports, including our container port Stockholm Norvik Stockholm Norvik Port.”
Regarding the nature of the new system, it is not essential to incorporate a particular mechanism into the ships, but the ship side sheets must be strong enough to carry the
loads of the mooring forces into the ship’s structure, according to the Ports of Stockholm spokesman.
“That said, the system is controlled by the ship and therefore control and communication units need to be installed on the ship. In practice that means a cabinet with a computer, a screen and antennas,” he added.
The vacuum pads eliminate the need for ropes, but tugboats will still be used in the mooring process. “If a ship typically requires tugs to get into position along the quay, it will require them even if the quay is equipped with auto-mooring,” said the Ports of Stockholm representative.
“What the auto mooring can do that ropes cannot do is to move the ships along the quay without tugs, which is also known as ‘Warping’,” he explains.
Ports of Stockholm said in a release that automooring with vacuum technology eliminates the risk of injury, as it is work handling conventional mooring lines, that carries the greatest injury risk during a vessel call.
Furthermore, as mooring time is shortened, operational efficiency improves. The vessels’ engines can be stopped earlier, which leads to significant fuel savings and reduced NOx and CO2 emissions, especially when combined with connection to onshore power.
