The company utilised its innovative SmartLoad 2Ex® technology for Zone 2 hazardous areas to improve safety and significantly reduce the risk of mooring incidents.

Port Taranaki has a long history of mooring difficulties and experiences long period waves (LPW) which excites the motion of moored vessels, increasing the loadings and the possibility of breaking the mooring lines. Together with MetOcean Solutions Limited - a local oceanographic company, the port has developed a predictive model in calculating the loadings during LPW, but as the effect is different for every berth, data is required to calibrate calculations for loading events.

To help ensure the integrity of the mooring lines and continuously monitor the load, Scotload applied its extensive knowledge of load monitoring solutions to replicate the pins in the port's existing boss mooring links and incorporate its SmartLoad® technology, which includes load intelligence directly on the mooring links, to deliver accurate load monitoring results in real-time.

'Ships in Port Taranaki are subject to long period wave surge' explians Peter Atkinson, port planning manager at Port Taranaki. 'Predictive models are used to forecast events but we wanted to increase efforts in better managing our response to these events. One of the parameters by which we are monitoring moored vessels is the mooring line tension which is why we approached Scotload, for their expertise in this field.'

The newly developed load monitoring boss mooring links now store mooring line tension data directly on the links themselves and export it for input into the predictive model. The adapted links were also supplied with a SmartLoad 2Ex® handset and standard SmartLoad® software.

Alex Cafferty of Kotimana Solutions Limited, Scotload's agent for the region said 'This is a great example of how we can apply the innovative SmartLoad® technology with any product, to be used with any combination of handset and software. The success of this installation has led to interest from other ports across New Zealand and I am very excited about the wider application into ports wanting to increase the safety of loading events worldwide.'

Expressing his delight at the contract, Simon Everett, managing director at Scotload concluded 'That we were able to devise a solution to Port Taranaki's specific requirements and provide accurate mooring line tension data for their predictive model, which feeds into the harbour safety system that they are renowned for, is testament to the teams expertise in the field of load monitoring and the versatility of our SmartLoad® technology.'

Ends

Note to editors:

Scotload specialises in competitive load instrumentation and has a long established history in providing load measurement and monitoring solutions to many industries worldwide.

For more information see www.scotload.com

James Fisher and Sons plc is a leading service provider in all sectors of the marine industry and a specialist supplier of engineering services to the nuclear industry in the UK and abroad. Operating in over 40 countries worldwide, the company serves both the private and public sectors and adopts a practical approach to the management of assets and provision of high quality services, ensuring an appropriate use of technology and a sound understanding of each customer's requirements. Building on the experience and expertise gained over more than 165 years of operating in the marine environment, James Fisher brings practical experience, innovation and commercial best practice to all clients' projects and services.

For more information see www.james-fisher.com

Business contact:

Name: Jonathan Harris

Title: Business Development Manager

Tel: +44 (0) 7712 324339

Email: jonathan.harris@scotload.com

Media enquiries:

Name: Kerry Tait

Title: Sales and Marketing Coordinator

Tel: +44 (0) 01244 877007

Email: kerry.tait@scotload.com

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