The last of the 26 vacuum based automated mooring units – the first in South African, and African, port systems – has arrived at the Eastern Cape Port of Ngqura. Testing is under way at Berth D100 and due for completion at the end of August. The mooring units were designed, custom manufactured and installed to meet the specific environmental conditions of the Port of Ngqura. “They will complement manual berthing teams at the port by stabilising container vessels on the quayside at the click of a button, reducing docking and undocking times from between 10 and 40 minutes to less than 10 seconds,” said Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) chief executive, Richard Vallihu.
