Finding an offshore mooring supplier in a highly competitive market is easy, but choosing the right one is a different story. You need to look for experienced suppliers who have not only been in business for a long time but who can also provide value for your company. To rise above the competition in the growing offshore mooring market, it’s critical to consistently offer something unique for customers.
Constant innovation can be your strongest unique selling point (USP); but outside of investing in new technology, another way of eliminating the competition is to provide leading-edge products at relatively low prices. Providing customers with top-quality products at competitive prices is a goal every business owner should have. However, accomplishing this goal can be quite difficult.
Keeping your prices relatively low relies on various factors such as managing the cost of production and operations. One of the most important factors to consider is your business supplier. When you partner with a reliable supplier, you gain access to the goods or services you need at the best possible prices and in the right time frames.
In addition to that, it’s crucial to ensure that your suppliers' business values align with yours. Choose a supplier that offers the best value for money. Luckily, there are many reliable offshore mooring suppliers in China who are dedicated to meeting your business needs.
In 2015, the global offshore mooring market was valued at $1,037 million and is expected to witness steady growth in the coming years, with projections that it will reach $1,408 million by 2022. With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.0% during the forecast period, the offshore mooring industry presents its players with various challenges and opportunities.
Increasing applications of offshore mooring in floating liquified natural gas (FLNGs), floating production storage and offloading (FPSOs), and semi-submersibles is expected to fuel market growth. Additionally, the increase in demand for green energy and maturity of onshore oil and gas fields has also left a significant impact on the market.
To stay competitive in the industry, many offshore exploration and production companies will have to make a huge investment in offshore mooring. If businesses cannot overcome the high initial investments in offshore field exploration, they may see restricted growth over the next couple of years.
Mooring refers to the process of anchoring a ship or any other marine vessel to a fixed or floating element and keeping it connected while loading or unloading cargo. To ensure the safety of everyone involved in the process, mooring equipment must be able to withstand several forces including wind, ocean current, tides, and waves. By securing a ship to a mooring, you forestall any of its free movement, minimizing the risk of accidents occurring during the loading and unloading of cargo.
Every marine vessel is designed with mooring arrangements, which enable it to moor safely alongside a berth, floating platform, buoy, or jetty. This is done through the use of ropes and wires that meet the recommended tensile strength. Fundamentally, marine vessels have to be positioned properly (alongside a jetty or a berth, between mooring buoys, to another ship or barge, or to a mooring buoy).
Once the vessel is in position, it is then made fast using its own anchors, mooring lines, or shorelines. Some very common methods of mooring are:
A ship-to-ship transfer (STS) refers to the transfer of a ship’s cargo, which can be oil or gas, between two merchant tanker vessels. Both vessels are positioned alongside each other. The STS transfer can be performed either when both the ships are staying still or while they are underway. In either case, the procedure requires proper coordination, equipment, and approval to be performed.
Single-point mooring (SPM) is a procedure that utilizes floating buoys and jetties, which are anchored offshore. SPM helps facilitate the handling of liquid cargo such as petroleum products for tanker ships. This process is mainly used in areas where a dedicated facility for loading or unloading liquid cargo is unavailable.
Facilities that use SPM are located several kilometres away from the shore. These are connected using sub-sea and sub-oil pipelines and can accommodate high-capacity vessels such as a very large crude carrier (VLCC). As such, SPM serves as a link between shore facilities and tankers for loading or off-loading liquid and gas cargo.
Multi-Buoy Mooring (MBM), as the name suggests, involves multiple buoys that are fixed to the seabed through mooring lines and marine anchors. About three to six buoys are permanently installed in a rectangular pattern, allowing for the safe mooring of various vessels, which are positioned between the buoys.
Tankers are moored close to a submarine string that is laying in an idle position on the seabed. This string is then picked up by using a rope or through buoy coupling.
MBM is typically used in non-deep water, where there are quay facilities for loading and offloading crude oil and oil byproducts from oilfields or refineries are unavailable.
When using this mooring method, the ship’s prow is secured with its two anchors. Meanwhile, the poop is secured to a buoy. Vessels must assume the berthing position by approaching the moor at a 90-degree angle. As the ship moves forward, the starboard anchor is released at a determined location. The port-side anchor is released when the ship stops, which helps in positioning the poop along the central line bifurcating the buoys.
Baltic mooring is a method of mooring in which the vessel is berthed alongside (lengthwise) a quay. This is done through the use of the ship’s anchor and onboard cables to secure the vessel safely and reduce any impact received upon mooring.
Baltic mooring is a safe option when berthing a ship on a particularly windy day.
Mediterranean mooring is a hybrid of anchoring, rafting, and docking. This method is typically used in regions, in which there is little room and tidal range, making it ideal when fitting multiple vessels in a small space. This kind of mooring takes its name from an old Mediterranean custom of mooring stern-to along a town’s quay or sea wall.
There are many types of cutting-edge docking and mooring equipment you can get when you work with a supplier in China. These include the following:
Quick release hooks (QRH) enable mooring lines to be secured quickly and safely. They allow for safe and efficient jetty mooring operations, particularly at terminals handling and transporting chemicals, oil, coal, Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), and Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG).
Over the years, the use of quick release mooring hooks has become more prevalent in new mooring system designs. This is especially true for mooring systems designed to accommodate larger vessels. The increase in popularity of QRHs can be attributed to the several operational and safety benefits they have over the standard bollards or cleats. These benefits include QRHs’ features which allow you to:
In addition to that, mooring hooks are steadily becoming a requirement for new installations, as mandated by some local rules and regulations.
Mooring bollards (also known as marine bollards) play an integral role in mooring systems. They are utilized in securing mooring lines, much like quick release hooks. The advantage of bollards over QRHs is their features that allow for the quick release of the decoupling. This enables ships to quickly leave the berthing state and depart, improving port efficiency.
Marine bollards serve as anchor points in which mooring lines are fixed, preventing vessels from drifting away due to tides, currents, and wind. These are simple yet efficient in securing vessels next to jetties, wharves, berths, and dolphins in ports and harbours.
Marine rubber fenders protect hulls and the mooring facility from damage when vessels berth alongside. These are used extensively in various mooring and berthing operations.
If you’re looking for a full range of rubber fender products including cell, cone, arch, leg, and cylindrical fenders, Glen Engineering is your best bet. We offer a wide range of rubber fenders tailored to your needs.
Foam-filled fenders are widely used on ships, bridges, open ports, dolphins, and wharves. This type of fender consists of an internal steel core, closed-cell foam, reinforced cord layers, and then an outer elastomer skin. The material used for these fenders is typically a closed-cell foam such as EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) or PE (polyethylene).
Foam-filled fenders do not absorb water, making them buoyant and perfect for marine applications.
Tug boat fenders are rubber fenders with high abrasion resistance. They are used to protect vessels and the berthing facility during contact. These boat fenders are highly resistant to wear and tear and are also very durable due to their excellent seawater resistance.
Made of a synthetic-cord-reinforced rubber sheet with compressed air inside, pneumatic rubber fenders are able to float in water and work as a shock absorber. These fenders protect ships and their coating during STS transfer and ship-to-dock berthing and mooring operations. Pneumatic fenders are designed to minimize the risk of damage during mooring and protect both people and cargo from unexpected movement.
Working with suppliers is a practice that the US and international businesses recognize as an effective strategy to manage product prices while maintaining quality. However, there are countless suppliers in the market, and choosing the right one can be difficult. To make sure you pick the mooring equipment supplier that’s right for your business, you need to consider various factors including the following:
When considering an offshore mooring equipment supplier, make sure they have in-house design engineering, manufacturing, and testing capabilities. In doing so, you can be sure that they have the flexibility to accommodate the last-minute changes to the specifications of your quick-release hooks, mooring bollards, and marine rubber fenders. In addition to that, a supplier with in-house testing capabilities ensures the quality of your product meets your expectations.
You also have to consider if the supplier is outsourcing an entire subsystem from a third party. If so, you need to find out who controls the design, manufacturing, QA, and after-sales of your products and who oversees the entire process. More often than not, working with a supplier who has all of their subsystems in-house is the right choice. This is because they have more control over the entire process, allowing them to accommodate any of your requests.
A manufacturer with a stringent quality assurance process ensures that the final product meets your specifications. As part of the quality assurance process, your manufacturer should provide 100% proof load testing for hooks and other mooring equipment before delivery. They should also be able to ensure 150% Safety Working Load (SWL) verification.
In addition to that, you should also ask your supplier if they are ISO 9001 certified. An ISO 9001 certification serves as proof that your manufacturer adheres to the international standard that specifies requirements for a quality management system (QMS).
As a testament to the full confidence a manufacturer has in their products, they provide their customers with warranties. If your manufacturer refuses to do so, you might want to reconsider hiring them.
In addition to that, you should also ask your manufacturer if they offer insurance. While they may be confident in the quality of their products, it doesn’t hurt to protect your investments through an insurance policy.
Results speak for themselves—that’s why looking at a manufacturer’s track record is crucial in your decision-making process. Choose a supplier who has a proven record of manufacturing and handling berths and similar products.
Safety should be the top priority if you are working in a hazardous zone. As such, your equipment should be compliant with hazardous area standards. To ensure hazardous zone compliance, your equipment manufacturer should deliver products that meet safety regulations.
A manufacturer that provides excellent after-sales service demonstrates that they want to build a long-term relationship with you and earn your loyalty. Through after-sales service, you can rest assured that you will receive support should a problem with your equipment arises.
Annual preventive maintenance programs are huge selling points for manufacturers. When you hire a supplier that offers annual service programs that include remote maintenance, you can rest easy knowing that your mooring equipment will work at peak efficiency year after year.
Your manufacturer should provide you with a comparison of detailed technical specifications and product features. They should also evaluate the inherent implications of the overall solution they offer. These steps ensures compliance with project requirements.
We are one of the world’s fastest developing manufacturers of marine equipment solutions, supplying quick-release hooks, ship mooring bollards, and rubber fenders to a global customer base.
When you choose Glen Engineering, you are guaranteed the highest quality of service and products to meet all major maritime guidelines and standards. Interested to learn more? Get in touch today.