Abstract
The automated vacuum mooring system has been installed at Tsuruga Port, which is expected to speed up ships' berthing and unberthing, improve safety, and improve the efficiency of cargo handling by reducing the amount of ship motions. In this study, we conducted on-site demonstration tests on the RORO ships and the ferries and investigated the effects of introducing the system on improving work efficiency and reducing the amount of ship motions. In addition, we calculated the critical wave height for cargo handling of the RORO ship by using simulation of oscillation after verifying the ship motions by the measured value and considered the effect of reducing the amount of ship motions. The conclusions obtained in this study are as follows. (1) Under calm conditions, it was possible to berth the ferry using only the mooring system and fenders, and it was shown that the berthing work could be reduced. (2) The results of on-site demonstration tests and simulation of oscillation showed that it is possible to improve the critical wave height for cargo handling compared to mooring lines by introducing the mooring system, especially for surge, sway, and roll components.
