The Auto Mooring Solutions Ship-to-Ship (STS) System leverages vacuum technology and AI-driven automation to address longstanding challenges in conventional mooring operations. This white paper highlights the system’s advantages in speed, safety, and reduced environmental impact making it the ultimate solution for efficient and reliable STS bunkering operations.

Fast (un)Mooring

The AMS STS-system, utilizing advanced vacuum and AI technology eliminates the need for time-consuming handling of conventional mooring ropes, fenders or barges. With hydraulically controlled robotic arms, a bunker vessel can be securely moored in as little as 5 minutes, while unmooring takes just 1 minute. This significantly reduces shipborne emissions by minimizing the mooring timeframe.

No Deck Personnel Required

Traditional mooring operations, involving manual handling of mooring lines and hoisting of fenders, pose a significant risk to deck personnel, occasionally resulting in serious injuries. With the semi- or fully automated AMS STS-system all (un)mooring operations are controlled directly from the wheelhouse. This eliminates the need for deck personnel, drastically enhancing onboard safety to unprecedented levels.

Reduction of Mooring Forces

Conventional mooring ropes act as uncontrolled springs, generating immense and unpredictable peak loads when vessels are impacted by currents, swells or winds. The AMS STS-system’s hydraulically positioned and motion-controlled mechanical arms stabilize mooring forces, reducing them to a controlled level less than 30% of conventional methods. This greatly improves the safety and stability of bunker vessels.

Full Mooring Flexibility

The AMS vacuum pads, equipped with specially designed friction pads, generate minimal pressure on the receiving hull (<10T/m²) and accommodate the flare shape of various vessels. This allows a bunker vessel fitted with the AMS STS-system to seamlessly moor with any receiving vessel, facilitating the bunkering of LNG, dual-fuel ships and alternative fuels efficiently.

Future Fuel Bunkering Ready

With its advanced automation and fully controlled (un)mooring operations that require no deck personnel, the AMS STS-system is uniquely equipped to handle the fuels of the future. Designed to operate with next-generation hazardous fuels such as LNG, Hydrogen and Ammonia, the system ensures bunker vessels are ready to meet the evolving demands of cleaner and more sustainable maritime energy solutions.

Offshore Ship-to-Ship Bunkering

The modular design of the AMS STS-system allows it to be customized for both newbuild vessels and retrofitted ships.

This flexibility enables the system to operate seamlessly in protected harbor areas as well as in offshore conditions, supporting ship-to-ship bunkering in open waters.

Guaranteed Bunkering

In scenarios where external forces like swell, current or wind push the receiving vessel out of range, the AMS STS-system automatically repositions the bunker vessel using proprietary AI and motion-controlled arms. This ensures a 100% uninterrupted bunkering process even under challenging weather conditions, providing reliability and peace of mind to operators.