Freightwaves: This autonomous ship mooring system really sucks – and that’s a good thing

Published by freightwaves 

A vacuum-based ship mooring system for the first time has been deployed at northern China’s Port of Qingdao.

Reports say the autonomous technology, deployed in January, berthed a container ship in 30 seconds. It’s also safer, since workers aren’t required to secure mooring lines.

A total of 13 vacuum mooring units shorten the mooring process from a half-hour for a single ship.

Qingdao is the fifth-busiest port in the world, handling 32.89 million twenty foot equivalent units in 2025, an increase of more than 6% from the previous year.