Smart Mooring Ropes - Realtime Risk Monitoring

Mooring ropes connect a vessel to the pier. Tension on these ropes can change rapidly as a result of tides, swells, and changes in the ship's draft due to cargo handling operations. Normally, sailors adjust tension manually, but it is extremely challenging to adjust it in response to rapidly changing real-time weather and sea conditions. A smart mooring rope with a built-in sensor cable that can measure tension and stretching of the rope is developed and in trials phase.

This is a synthetic fiber-based mooring rope with a twelve-strand construction. The interlayer of this rope is made of a high-performance, ultra-strong Aramid fiber with the sensor cable inserted in the centre. The measured data is wirelessly transmitted to the main monitor on the bridge and to mobile devices, allowing crew members to monitor mooring rope tension from anywhere on board the vessel.

A key benefit of this rope is that it can be used even in ports where tension monitors are not available, as the sensor is built into the rope. When unloading cargo or during high tides, the ship's position rises relative to the pier, putting increased tension on the rope and increasing the risk of breakage. Conversely, when cargo is loaded or during low tides, the ship's position moves lower relative to the pier, increasing the risk that the ship could drift away from the pier.

This makes it easier for crew members to visualize tension on the rope and sounds an alarm to warn when there is a risk of the rope breaking or the vessel drifting away from the pier.

Source: https://www.mol.co.jp/en/pr/2019/19018.html