ShoreTension Joint Venture Targets Global Market
After Europe Container Terminals (ECT) took a 50 percent stake in ShoreTension Holding B.V. in April, the joint venture with All-round Port Services B.V. is ready to launch its revolutionary stand-alone mooring system ShoreTension on a global basis. Gerrit van der Burg, Managing Director of ShoreTension Holding B.V.: “After highly rigorous and extensive field testing, the time has now come to actually launch the ShoreTension system on the market. The joint venture with ECT offers us the possibility to do so.”
The ShoreTension system, based on the permanent tension of shore mooring lines, allows sea-going vessels to be more safely and securely moored to the quay than the conventional method of mooring directly on bollards. The system dampens the ship’s motion and absorbs its energy. As a result, vessels hardly move in strong winds, swells, fast currents or passing shipping traffic. Jan Westerhoud, CEO of ECT: “We see the added value of the ShoreTension system for safe, efficient terminal operations and are keen to turn this Dutch invention into a global success together with our partner.”
Even in extreme conditions, the ShoreTension system is capable of preventing mooring lines from snapping and because the ShoreTension system does not require any external energy it is CO2 neutral. The ShoreTension system makes unloading and loading cargo from vessels easier for terminals as ships remain stable and quay crane operations can continue uninterrupted. The system is versatile and can be deployed at almost any container, general cargo or bulk terminal.
The development of the ShoreTension system was made possible by ShoreTension’s co-operation with the Royal Boatmen’s Association Eendracht (KRVE), which is responsible for the mooring and unmooring of seagoing vessels in the port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. KRVE has many years of experience in the mooring and unmooring of sea-going vessels.
ECT tested the system at its Delta Terminal in Rotterdam and subsequently acquired a 50 percent stake in ShoreTension Holding B.V. on 29 April 2013, realising the benefits it brings to operations. ECT also purchased four ShoreTension systems. With the ShoreTension system, ECT is able to further improve its services by enhancing the safety of vessel and crew and the reliability of the loading and unloading process.
Read a full report on the ShoreTension system in the December 2012/January 2013 issue of Ports & Shipping Industry (Volume 1, Issue 3) or find out more information about the ShoreTension system.
