Swiss power supply solutions provider Cavotec has secured an order worth €28m from three firms in Australia, Canada and Denmark for its MoorMaster automated mooring systems.
The order includes servicing, installation and commissioning of the systems on three types of vessels, namely lock, roll-on/roll-off ferry and bulk handling.
MoorMaster is a vacuum-based automated mooring technology that holds the vessels securely during mooring operations in wind speeds of over 20m a second and water level of up to 14m.
The system improves safety for those on board and onshore.
In Canada, the systems will be used by St Lawrence Seaway, which will be the first inland waterway to use automated mooring.
Cavotec will develop 39 MoorMaster MM400L (lock) units and rail structures for mounting 13 locks.
St Lawrence Seaway Management market development director Bruce Hodgson said that, with the implementation of Cavotec’s equipment, the company is looking forward to welcoming more Seaway-sized vessels from the world’s fleet, as vessel operators will no longer need to equip their ships with Seaway-specific fittings.
“This will increase our access to the global fleet. Easing access to the Seaway carries the prospect of bringing more tonnage into our locks,” Hodgson said.
In Denmark, Cavotec will manufacture, install and commission two MoorMaster MM400 units that will be used in conjunction on a new-build liquefied natural gas passenger ferry.
Cavotec will develop, install and commission eight MoorMaster MM200B (bulk) units for dredging company, Jan de Nul, at a bulk handling application in Australia.
Deliveries for the Cavotec systems are scheduled to run until the end of 2016.
