Tallinn’s Old City Harbour To Introduce Automated Mooring System
Port of Tallinn has signed contracts with maritime engineering companies Trelleborg and Cavotec for the instalment of automated mooring systems at quays 5, 12 and 13 of the Old City Harbour, which is used by passenger vessels serving the Tallinn-Helsinki route.The new automated mooring systems will be installed by the end of 2020. Each quay will be equipped with six vacuum pads that will moor, hold and release the vessel. As the first vessel, Viking Line’s Viking XPRS will start using the new system in spring 2020, while Tallink’s shuttle ships and Eckerö Line’s vessel can utilise the automated system by the end of the year. Similar automated vacuum mooring system is also installed at Helsinki West Harbour.
The new mooring systems are being installed in the framework of TWIN-PORT 3 project and are being co-financed by the EU Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). It is a collaboration project between ferry operators (Tallink, Viking Line and Eckerö Line), the ports of Tallinn and Helsinki and the City of Helsinki for the years 2018-2023 with a total budget of EUR 61.2 million. Port of Tallinn is investing a total of EUR 15.8 million within the project.