Cavotec Automated Mooring and Charging for E-Ferries

Cavotec's MoorMaster automated mooring and Automatic Plug-in System (APS) are set to enter service with a hybrid battery-powered ferry in Finland, delivering substantial operational efficiencies and reducing environmental impact.

The Electra, operated by FinFerries, is 90m long, 16m wide, and carries up to 90 vehicles. It makes crossings at 15-minute intervals during the day, and one round trip per hour at night, year-round and in all weather conditions between Parainen and Nauvo in southwest Finland.

For this application, Cavotec engineered a fully integrated automated mooring and charging solution consisting of a MoorMaster system and an automated charging solution – a Cavotec APS tower – at each berth to moor and connect the Electra in less than 30 seconds.

The MoorMaster units will signal to the APS systems when the Electra is securely moored, before a laser sensor then guides the connector to a hatch in the side of the vessel where it connects to the ship’s battery to begin charging.

“APS automates the charging of the vessel with the touch of a button,” says Sofus Gedde Dahl, Cavotec Global Systems Specialist, E-ferries.

APS connects cranes, ships and other mobile equipment to electrical power. The system ensures quick and reliable connection, maximising charging time and optimising battery pack design and thereby vessel weight and operational costs. The minor vessel modifications required with the Cavotec APS tower convinced the client that this was the most cost efficient solution available.

MoorMaster automated mooring eliminates the need for mooring lines with automated vacuum pads that moor and release vessels in seconds.

“Prior to its retrofit and installation of a battery unit, the Electra was exclusively diesel-powered. The introduction of MoorMaster and APS will ensure substantial improvements in terms of safety, efficiency, and environmental performance,” explains Jakob Tolsgaard, Cavotec MoorMaster™ System Specialist, Europe.

Cavotec has installed these systems at a number of similar e-ferry applications in Norway, and we’re seeing growing interest in the automation of mooring and charging of vessels across the industry.

Earlier this year, again in Finland, a number of Cavotec MoorMaster units entered service at a major ferry terminal at the Port of Helsinki.