Mooring system with active control

A vessel mooring system which includes

• at least two mooring robots secured to a terminal, the terminal being either a fixed or floating structure each mooring robot including an attractive force attachment element displaceably engaged to a base structure of said mooring robot said base structure fixed relative to the terminal, said attractive force attachment element to be releasably engaged with a substantially vertically extending port or starboard side disposed vessel surface for making fast the vessel to said terminal, said attractive force attachment element capable of exerting an attractive force normal to said vessel surface at which it is to be attached,
• means to establish the attractive force between said vessel and said attractive force attachment element
• wherein each mooring robot includes means to actuate movement of the attractive force attachment element relative to the base structure in at least a direction selected from any one or both of an athwartship direction and longitudinal direction
• and wherein for each robot, said system further including
• (a) means to measure the attractive force between the attractive force attachment element and the vessel in a direction parallel to said normal to provide an “attractive force capacity reading” and
• (b) means to measure the force between said attractive force attachment element and the base structure of said mooring robot in at least any one or more of:
• i. a direction parallel to the said normal to provide a “normal force reading”
• ii. a direction horizontal and perpendicular to said normal to provide a “horizontal shear force reading”, and
• iii. a direction vertical and perpendicular to the normal to provide a “vertical shear force reading”
• (c) means to monitor the relationship between said attractive force capacity reading and any one or more of said normal force reading, horizontal shear force reading, and vertical shear force reading to provide a or several “mooring status reading(s)”
• (d) means to control each mooring robot responsive to said mooring status reading(s) in a manner such that when any one or more of the normal force reading, the horizontal shear force reading, and the vertical shear force reading in a direction tending to allowing a relative movement between said vessel and said attractive force attachment element of a first of the at least two mooring robots, reaches a holding capacity of said attractive force attachment element in such direction, said means to control initiates at least one or more selected from the following:
• i. inducing said means to establish said attractive force in a manner to increase said attractive force,
• ii. an alarm, and
• iii. a displacement of the attractive force attachment element of at least a second of the at least two mooring robots relative to its base structure, in a direction opposite to the direction tending to allowing a relative movement between said vessel and said attractive force attachment element of said first mooring robot, to increase a loading force on said at least second mooring robot and reducing a loading force on the first mooring robot in said direction tending to allowing a relative movement between said vessel and said attractive force attachment element of said first mooring robot.

A vessel mooring system for mooring a first vessel, wherein the vessel mooring system includes

• at least two mooring robots secured to a terminal, the terminal being either a fixed or floating dock (or a second vessel) each mooring robot including an attractive force attachment element engaged to a base structure of said mooring robot said base structure fixed relative to the terminal, said attractive force attachment element to be releasably engaged with a vertically extending port or starboard slide disposed vessel surface for making fast the first vessel to said terminal, said attractive force attachment element capable of exerting an attractive force normal to said vessel surface at where it is to be attached,
• means to establish the attractive force between said first vessel and said attractive force attachment element
• wherein for each robot, said system further including
• (a) means to measure the attractive force between the attractive force attachment element and the first vessel to provide an “attractive force capacity reading” and
• (b) means to measure the force between said attractive force attachment element and the base structure of said mooring robot at least in a direction parallel to the said normal to provide a “normal force reading”
• (c) means to monitor the relationship between said attractive force capacity reading and said normal force reading to provide a “mooring status reading”
• (d) means to control the mooring robot responsive to said mooring status reading in a manner such that when the normal force reading in a direction tending to separate the attractive force attachment element from said first vessel reaches an attractive force reading threshold, said means to control initiates at least one of:
• i. inducing said means to establish said attractive force in a manner to increase said attractive force, and
• ii. an alarm.

A vessel mooring system for controlling mooring of a vessel with a wharf facility said system comprising:

• at least one mooring robot for releasably fastening to said vessel said mooring robot including
• i. a fixed structure fastened to said wharf facility,
• ii. an attractive force attachment element for releasable engagement via an attractive force with a generally planar vertical surface of the vessel, said attractive force attachment element moveably disposed from said fixed structure to allow its relative movement to said wharf facility in 3 orthogonal directions being a vertical direction, a first horizontal direction parallel to a normal of the vertical surface and a second horizontal direction parallel to the planar vertical surface
• iii. means to actuate movement of the attractive force attachment element in at least said first and second horizontal direction,
• means to generate a force signal representative of a force between the fixed structure and said attractive force attachment element in a direction parallel to said first horizontal direction, and
• means to generate a force signal representative of a force between the fixed structure and said attractive force attachment element in a direction parallel to said second horizontal direction,
• means to generate a force signal representative of a tensile holding force between said attractive force attachment element and said vessel in said first horizontal direction,
• means to determine a shear holding force between said attractive force attachment element and said vessel in said second horizontal direction,
• means responsive to said first and second mentioned means to generate a force signal, which when one or more of
• (a) the force measured by said first mentioned means to generate a force signal reaches a predefined value approaching the tensile holding force and
• (b) the force measured by said second mentioned means to generate a force signal reaches a predefined value approaching the shear holding force
• initiates any one or more selected from the following;
• (a) an alarm and
• (b) induces an increase in the attractive force of said attractive force attachment element with said vessel and
• (c) induces the means to actuate movement to change acceleration/deceleration of said attractive force attachment element relative to said wharf facility in a direction to reduce an amount of force which is over said predefined value, wherein the amount of force which is over said predefined value comprises one or both of:
• i. the force between the fixed structure and said attractive attachment element in the direction parallel to said second horizontal direction and
• ii. the force between the fixed structure and said attractive attachment element in the direction parallel to said first horizontal direction.

A mooring system for releasably affixing a vessel floating at the surface of a body of water to a terminal which is secured to the bottom of said body of water wherein said vessel is subjected to loading forces resultant from any one or more of wind, tides, water currents, waves, vessel loading levels, and movement actuated by said system, said system including

• at least one mooring robot which includes
• (a) a base structure affixed to one of said terminal or said vessel,
• (b) a variable attractive force attachment element engaged to said base structure, said variable attractive force attachment element adapted to become affixed to and establish an attachment with a surface of the other of said one of said terminal or vessel, said attachment being of an attractive kind establishing an attractive holding force normal to the surface at which it is to attach,
• means to determine the attractive holding force of said variable attractive force attachment element when said variable attractive force attachment element is in an attached relationship with said surface
• means to determine a shear direction holding force of said variable attractive force attachment element with said surface when said variable attractive force attachment element is in an attached relationship with said surface, said shear direction holding force being in a horizontal direction and perpendicular to a normal to the surface of the other of said one of said terminal or vessel,
• means to determine at least one or more selected from a group consisting of
• a. a tensile force applied by said surface to said variable attractive force attachment element in a direction parallel to said normal, and
• b. a horizontal shear force applied by said surface to said variable attractive force attachment element in a horizontal direction and perpendicular to said normal, and
• means for allowing comparison between
• i) the attractive holding force and said tensile force and
• ii) the shear direction holding force and said horizontal shear force.