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No Lines, No Crew on the Quay: China’s First Vacuum Auto-Mooring Goes Live

On January 1, 2026, Qingdao Port (Shandong Port Group) marked the first day of the new year with a major milestone in terminal innovation: China’s first vacuum-based automatic mooring system officially entered operation at the Qingdao Automated Container Terminal.

In a live operation, the 366-meter container vessel MSC Saudi Arabia approached the berth with no crews handling mooring lines on the quay. Instead, the system automatically identified and positioned the vessel, then secured it using high-vacuum suction units—completing mooring in under 30 seconds. For comparison, conventional mooring typically takes 20–30 minutes per call.

Key capabilities include:
13 mooring units installed along the quay line
Up to 2,600 kN total holding force when operating simultaneously
Designed to meet automatic mooring requirements for container ships over 200 meters, including the largest vessels in operation
A “remote control center + mobile terminal + local unit” three-layer control architecture
Multi-sensor fusion and intelligent decision-making algorithms, integrating hydraulic drive, high-vacuum suction, real-time motion tracking, and monitoring of wind/wave/current conditions for active station-keeping control

Beyond speed, the bigger impact is safety and productivity. By removing personnel from the mooring line danger zone and reshaping the mooring/unmooring process, the system supports safer operations. Qingdao Port estimates the solution can save more than 200 hours of berthing time annually—equivalent to enabling 10+ additional vessel calls per berth each year—while also contributing to greener, more efficient logistics.

This is another strong example of how automation is expanding from equipment and control systems into core berth-side processes—and how smart ports are moving toward end-to-end, high-reliability operations.

by Xinde Marine News Chen Yang
 
The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Xinde Marine News.

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