The Port of Dover has installed an advanced monitoring system with integrated Meteor MRC cameras to collect data on ferry berthing and fender performance. This is to help optimise maintenance and identify significant berthing impacts.
The Port of Dover, the UK’s busiest international ferry port, handles more than 11 million passengers annually and a third of the UK’s trade with the EU. To ensure safe and efficient ferry operations, its six ferry berths are equipped with fenders that protect both vessels and quays during berthing. These fenders require regular maintenance to ensure reliable performance, with servicing traditionally based on manufacturers’ recommended schedules and the number of berthing impacts.
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Fender displacement
Sensors have been installed to measure the magnitude of fender displacement when ferries are berthing, with the MRC camera providing a visual verification of each vessel. By combining these datasets, fender displacement measurements can be correlated with individual berthing events.
‘The Meteor camera provides us with “eyes on-site”,’ explains Nick Slater from I&M Solutions, who has been delivering the monitoring contract with Justin Roffey of Geo-Sub Ltd. ‘As soon as a sensor registers an approaching vessel, the data logging system is activated, which in turn triggers the camera, allowing methodical collection of berthing data. This improves the response time for the port’s engineers, saves time and money, and provides valuable operational context to support informed maintenance, asset integrity and future fender management decisions.’
Sensors
With the monitoring system in place, the operational and maintenance teams at Dover are now able to use quantitative measurements, to inform maintenance scheduling and planning for repairs. This helps to extend the life of the fenders and reduce the likelihood of any reactive interventions that may require a berth to be closed, temporarily reducing port capacity.
One of the primary considerations when designing a monitoring system for a UK port, is the robustness of the equipment. Storms, waves, salt spray and high winds combine to present a particularly challenging location for precise measurements.
Geo-Sub/I&M Solutions installed a long-range Vega radar sensor to detect ferry arrivals at the berth. A further five sensors were installed at selected fenders, measuring the distance from the quay wall to the rear of the fender, with all data captured by bespoke wireless loggers. Once a vessel is detected, the five fender sensors are activated, instructing the loggers to record measurements at 5 Hz while the vessel berths.
Remote camera
A specialist remote camera from Meteor Communications monitors the sensors and records images for each ferry docking. Meteor’s MCE mini pillar camera with IR illuminator was installed towards the end of 2024, and Nick Slater says: ‘It has performed flawlessly for the past year, delivering high-quality images in all weathers to corroborate sensor data, and enable us to view site conditions without requiring engineers to attend the berth unnecessarily.’
The Meteor camera communicates via secure mobile network links with image visualisation provided by the MeteorCloud® platform – a secure web portal for viewing camera images, diagnostics and historic imagery.
Condition-based maintenance
Gennaro Acquaviva, Senior Engineer at the Port of Dover: ‘By combining fender displacement data with visual records of berthing operations, we can better understand the forces being imposed on the fenders and how the system responds over time. The key benefit for us is the ability to make more informed engineering decisions. This data supports condition-based maintenance, improves our understanding of fender integrity, and helps us plan replacements or design improvements based on evidence rather than assumption.’
Picture: Meteor Camera at Port of Dover (photo by Port of Dover).
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