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The Importance Of Mooring Bollards

Author: Alex Banner
by Alex Banner
Posted: Mar 30, 2015

While mooring bollards are ubiquitous, their importance is often underestimated. They are used for tying up boats and ships, one of the basic tasks with ships. Many people confuse these vertical posts with decorative bollards, but they are used for completely different functions. Decorative bollards come in interesting and good-looking forms and are used for aesthetics only, while mooring bollards are used at docks, ports and coasts for mooring large ships. These short vertical posts have been around for many years and today, they still play an important role in mooring ships.

As a consequence of the concerns about security and safety, the interest in mooring bollards has increased again over the recent years. A typical mooring bollard is made from steel or cast iron for high durability. Usually, these bollards look like mushrooms with an enlarged top designed to prevent the ropes from slipping off. The term bollard can be also used to describe some structures on the streets, in buildings and in landscaping, as bollards have evolved into many different shapes and forms for different applications.

In general, there are three types of bollards used for mooring ships: removable, operable and fixed. The most commonly used mooring bollards are fixed. These are installed into concrete surfaces or foundations in order to resist the weight of large and/or heavy ships. Manufactured bollards are usually designed with a special mounting system. For increased safety, these vertical posts need to be embedded deep in the concrete, of course, if site conditions permit. Engineering of the mounting system typically depends on the bollards design threat and soil conditions. For smaller ships or boats, removable bollards may be good for mooring, since they are not designed for heavy impact resistance.

Most of modern designs of bollards focus on mooring heavier and larger ships. The most significant factor in safely handling ships is the distance between the ship and the mooring bollard. The greater the distance, the greater the threat resistance. Therefore, a close and secure perimeter is the first step in ensuring safe ship mooring. Any mooring bollard depends on an estimated size of the threat to be resisted. So, users should never moor ships heavier than the estimated maximum carrying capacity. It is safe to say that these vertical posts are must-have at any deck.

About the Author

I'm a freelance writer based in Melbourne, Australia.

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Author: Alex Banner

Alex Banner

Member since: Mar 16, 2015
Published articles: 2

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