Lamanage du Havre  and Le Havre harbourmaster’s office are innovating in the area of vessel mooring. Following testing and validation, the ShoreTension system has been confirmed to improve vessel safety and stability at berth. The intention is to develop this new tool across all Le Havre’s terminals that are subject to tidal constraints.

The HAROPA PORT boatmen’s cooperative and harbourmaster’s office have tested this dynamic mooring reinforcement system. It is a tool capable of improving vessel stability at berth. Studies conducted into ship positioning identify a mooring problem known as “surge”. This refers to ship movements on its longitudinal axis, front to back, along its berth. Weather conditions, the tide and the massive size of certain ships are factors in the seriousness of the problem. Surge is a hazard for all personnel during a port call.

Given these observed risks, HAROPA PORT initiated a project aimed at improving mooring safety. This led to a close collaboration with Lamanage du Havre. The harbourmaster’s office began with a campaign of centimetric GPS measurements. This phase confirmed that unwanted vessel movements could amount to displacements of up to ten metres. The harbourmaster’s office and Lamanage du Havre then looked for the right technical solution for the conditions at Port 2000. Their choice was a dynamic mooring system called ShoreTension® System (STS) marketed by KRVE, a company.

A trial phase that yielded positive results

Thanks to a programme of collaborative work by HAROPA PORT together with Lamanage du Havre and the entire port community, trials of the dynamic mooring reinforcement system were conducted from September 2021 to January 2023. Analysis of the results confirmed the effectiveness of the system from several standpoints:

–          It reduces surge to less than a metre on all types of vessels and in all possible conditions, thereby significantly improving the stability of the ship at berth.

–          It improves the “dock alert” procedure aimed at placing quayside work crews rapidly in safety.

–          It substantially reduces the danger of mooring line breakage, thereby limiting the risk of a ship being left adrift. This protects operations in port and eliminates pollution risk.

The new system logs operating data remotely, making it possible to monitor the loads on mooring lines in real time. This innovative system also provides a high level of flexibility since it can be positioned at any point on the quayside and on ships and floating machinery of any kind. It is a standalone system requiring no power supply once in operation.

HAROPA PORT has been able to put the right conditions in place for the implementation of the ShoreTension® system thanks to the sharing of experience during the testing with the harbourmaster’s office, Lamanage du Havre, shipping lines and stevedores.

Implementation of the solution at Le Havre port: a first for French ports

HAROPA PORT is the first French port to install a dynamic mooring reinforcement system whose value is now clearly recognised by the entire port community based on the trials that have been conducted. In response to the risks for ships when at berth, the intention is to ensure significant development for this solution over the coming months. For this, Lamanage du Havre is at the forefront, working on the solution in collaboration with the other French ports.

The system is now being used in commercial operations by Lamanage du Havre.