MacLaine’s background in marine archaeology and her passion for shipping helped her forge business relationships with a number of experts in the field, with whom she is collaborating to plan and design her zero-emissions ship.

“In our project, the objective is to design and build ships that give access to remote coastal regions, so our market is quite specific. In Senegal, you have huge distances between land masses, no fossil fuels, plenty of wind and plenty of water,” she explains. She plans to use the natural resources offered by this land to power her ship.

MacLaine and her team have already developed an initial 12m-long model capable of carrying five tonnes of cargo. If sufficiently funded, this prototype will be followed by a 24m-long model powered by hydrogen which she plans to build in two years’ time.

A combination of solar, wind and hydraulic energy will power the final 60m-long version, which will be able to carry 500 tonnes of cargo and will feature a low draft enabling it to sail through Casamence’s shallow rivers.

Up until 2007, the Fair Winds Trading Company existed as a ship-building company, but it was after MacLaine’s trip to Senegal that it acquired a new role. According to her, in order for it to be ethical, the ship has to transport supplies that benefit producers in Senegal. She explains: “I wanted to carry something of a high value in relation to its displacement, but also something that would have a positive impact on the biodiversity of the region and have a positive economic impact on the local community.”

MacLaine was living in a small village in Casamance when she found out about a sacred healing oil, produced by locals, capable of curing a wide range of afflictions, from a sore back to a cold and skin disorders, which both she and her daughters used when in need. It represented the ideal business opportunity she had been looking for since moving to Senegal.

Her idea quickly escalated as she went in search of producers: “I wanted to find out how we could maybe work on the production process to keep the traditional aspect of it and the production in the hands of the producers, so they would become micro-entrepreneurs, but also bring the quality of the oil up to a level where it would be accepted by the European cosmetics industry.”

Despite initially holding talks with famous cosmetics brands, in the end she decided to collaborate with buyers who would be “at the same level as the producers in Senegal in order to bring the trade back down to a lateral exchange.”

Despite receiving help from both fronts, with her micro-entrepreneurs working to produce the oil and her collaborators busy designing the 24m-long model, the amount of workload for MacLaine is all but eased. Alongside the Fair Winds Trading Company, she is involved in a range of projects that aim to improve the impact of different means of transport on the environment.

One such project involves developing a sailing cargo network in the North Sea region: “We are looking for cargo and are interested in putting stuff up on cargo ships. We’ll be monitoring and evaluating the project and writing reports for policymakers on what they can do to assist in the development of using sailing cargo ships for re-establishing short sea shipping routes, connecting small ports in the northern regions.”

“There is the possibility of damage to equipment and mooring lines and systems, while any errors in vessels’ approach towards the berth or severe environmental conditions may cause the vessel to land heavily on the berth, resulting in damage to both the vessel, fender systems and the berth structure, as well as likely pollution damage.”

What’s more, successful berthing is also contingent on external factors, such as tidal levels and wind force.

“There is risk to vessels’ moorings when changes happen in tidal levels and flow, wind force becomes excessive and sea state becomes heavy,” says Anwar. “At times, passing vessels may cause the vessel on the berth to range on her moorings. In all such cases, the mooring lines can part, putting the crew, vessel and the environment at further risk.”

Technology companies have been looking to develop systems to counter and reduce these risks for some time. These systems are geared towards providing a greater level of control upon a ship’s approach towards its berth, reducing the risk of mooring lines parting when they come under load. 

“There’s also the doppler approach system, which allows the master or pilot to monitor the rate of approach effectively and control the berthing operation without landing heavily on the berth,” Anwar says. 

“Another approach taken has been the use of clamps, which hold onto specific mooring points created in the hull of this ship and keep her alongside. This system has the limitation that it can only connect vessels that are fitted with hull mooring points specifically designed for this system.”

Some of these berthing technologies have already made it to market. Offshore and marine engineering firm MacGregor has an auto-tension mooring system in its portfolio, which uses shore-based lines and a pendant connected to the ship to control against loads and movement.

The most modern developments in this area to date, however, have been vacuum-based, rope-free mooring systems. Anwar cites the MoorMaster and AutoMoor systems, by Cavotec and Trelleborg respectively, which both work on the basis of attaching a number of vacuum pads to the ship’s hull, which pull the ship to its berth. 

“The systems do not require mooring assistance from the ship’s crew, though some crew presence may still be required for deployment of anchors where necessary,” he says.

“It has the ability to attach to the hull when it is 2.5m off the berth. This reduces the possibility of impact damage – as well as the need to run engines for long to position the ships – and eliminates manual handling of lines, while reducing wear and tear of the ship’s hull and port fender systems. 

“These systems clearly bring a step change in safety, as no manual handling of mooring is taking place, hence large number of mooring related accidents can be avoided.”

There are some drawbacks to these technologies, however. These systems are reliant on a constant source of power availability ashore, and while most are provided with uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), there is often no back-up in the event of a power failure (in which the UPS fails to activate). This could create the risk of the ship being inadvertently released from its vacuum moorings.

“Furthermore, the systems are remotely monitored using an internet-based system, and potential cybersecurity issues do pose challenges,” adds Anwar. “There is also a likelihood that hulls that do not have a smooth finish due to wear and tear, corrosion, indentation or marine growth, which creates a challenge for a safe, continuous vacuum connection.”

All in all, new auto-berthing technology, Anwar summarises, should be seen as “a major development, but one that needs to be treated with respect”. It will be interesting to see whether it can cross new frontiers in Japan in the coming months and years.