KIMM reveals new automated mooring system for autonomous vessels

The Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (KIMM) has created an ‘enhanced’ automated mooring system that aims to ‘improve’ the safety of docking operations for autonomous vessels.

As disclosed, this project was conducted under the “Development of Smart Port-Autonomous Ship Linkage Technology” initiative, which was endorsed by Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. It is expected to become commercially available by 2025.

According to KIMM, the initiative revolved around the vision to “overcome” the limitations of traditional wire-based mooring methods. The research team, led by Yongjin Kim, who is KIMM’s principal researcher under President Seog-Hyeon Ryu, combined vacuum suction pads with what is described as a ‘flexible’ hydraulic mechanism to ensure ‘precise’ docking without the need for manual intervention.

This technology is said to enable the mooring of vessels via an ‘integrated control’ of a vacuum suction pad and a 4-degree-of-freedom hydraulic mechanism.

As explained, workers generally have to secure vessels to the port manually, using thick mooring lines, which necessitates high tensile strength, depending on the ship’s size and weight, and can potentially increase the risk of accidents.

KIMM’s latest development was reportedly kickstarted to remedy this. By relying on vacuum suction pads for attachment and a hydraulic system for automated control, the new autonomous system KIMM engineered is anticipated to “increase both speed and accuracy” of the mooring process.

As informed, this technological achievement has been endorsed by the Korea Federation of Mechanical Engineering Societies as one of “Korea’s Top 10 Mechanical Technologies of the Year.”

According to KIMM, the final performance is slated for verification at sea in 2025, after which the technology should be wrapped up and ready for wider, commercial adoption.

‘Sustainable’ solutions for autonomous vehicles have been a growing ‘trend’ in South Korea.

In September 2023, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) received a thumbs-up from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for two solutions that were said to support autonomous navigation and the maritime industry’s decarbonization goals.

As understood, the first approval in principle (AiP) was granted for the AI-based Smart LNG Boil-off Gas Management System, which was described as a solution for improving fuel efficiency and minimizing cargo loss by predicting boil-off gas (BOG) occurrence in real-time in conjunction with operational optimization.

The second one was given for an AI-backed Autonomous LNG Fuel Gas Supply System (Hi-GAS+ SMART FGSS) that was said to automatically support control methods and changes depending on the situation, making it ‘easier’ for the crew to operate LNG-powered ships.

On a wider scale, BIMCO, the world’s largest shipping association, unveiled in October 2024 that its Documentary Committee has greenlit the AUTOSHIPMAN agreement, a contractual framework created to support the rising number of remotely controlled vessels.

According to BIMCO, the AUTOSHIPMAN deal was made to establish a standardized contract system enabling third-party ship managers to operate remote-controlled and autonomous ships, primarily used in inland waterways and coastal trades.