BPA Secures Key Data for Smart Port Technology Development ... Responding to Autonomous Ships

Busan Port Authority (BPA) conducted mooring tension measurements on the container ship HMM Raon and the ferry Panstar Dream at Pier 4 and the International Passenger Pier of Busan New Port.

Mooring tension refers to the force applied to the mooring ropes that secure a vessel docked at the pier to prevent movement, as well as the bollards (gokju) to which these ropes are tied.

BPA has participated in the research project "Development of Autonomous Ship-Smart Port Linkage Technology," led by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, since 2021, and is measuring and analyzing mooring tension according to the type and size of vessels for related technology development.

To measure the mooring tension of ships, BPA developed special sensors. These sensors were attached to the mooring ropes of container ships and international ferries within Busan Port to measure and analyze tension changes caused by ocean currents, cargo volume, and wind waves.

Previously, BPA measured the mooring tension of the world's largest 24,000 TEU container ship, and this time secured data for a 16,000 TEU container ship and a 20,000-ton ferry. Additionally, in the second half of the year, BPA plans to expand the measurement scope to various vessel types such as Ro-Ro ships and cruise ships to accumulate more data.

BPA plans to utilize the data derived from measurement and analysis as reference material for designing the core functions of automatic mooring devices essential for the introduction of autonomous ships, as well as for the future design of mooring facilities such as bollards at Busan Port piers.

Busan Port Authority employees are measuring the mooring force of the Panstar Dream ship.

Currently, some ports in Northern Europe and the Middle East operate automatic mooring devices that fix vessels by suction using devices installed on the berth during passenger and cargo ship mooring.

With the increasing size of ships, port mooring facilities have also been steadily expanded. BPA plans to use the mooring tension measurement data to establish standards for appropriately sized and safe mooring facilities.

Since there are almost no precedents worldwide for measuring and analyzing container ship mooring tension, it is significant that Busan Port has proactively secured data to advance as a global smart port.

BPA will first share the measurement results with ports such as the Port of Antwerp in Belgium, which has shown great interest in this data, and plans to discuss future utilization methods of the data with other global ports.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.