Morocco's Tanger Med Port Automates Mooring with 45 MoorMaster Units
Tanger Med, Morocco has deployed 45 automated mooring systems to replace manual rope handling. Cavotec states the technology secures vessels in under 30 seconds.
West Africa is automating its ports, yet many facilities still rely on workers to handle heavy ropes before ships can load. The Tanger Med port in Morocco challenges this assumption with a fully integrated automated mooring system. At APM Terminals MedPort Tangier, shore-mounted MoorMaster units utilize vacuum pads to secure vessels directly to the berth without conventional lines. Cavotec, the engineering firm supplying the system, reports that its technology completes mooring operations in less than 30 seconds while adjusting to vessel and weather conditions. This speed increases berth productivity by reducing time between cargo operations. Manual line handling presents safety hazards for workers and can interfere with crane movements due to vessel shifting. The Tanger Med facility serves as a large-scale example rather than a small demonstration. It features 2,000 meters of quay length, three berths, 20 ship-to-shore cranes, and 70 automated rail-mounted gantry cranes with an annual capacity of 5.2 million TEU. By June 2024, the port had installed 45 MoorMaster units across 800 meters of quay space.
