Sea captain Mike Nicholson gives 'berth' to new app which aims to stop ships breaking free of their moorings

Captain Mike Nicholson with his app. Image: The Bigger Picture Agency

Most boats break free due to bad weather, insufficient mooring ropes, or both.

But now former harbour master and master mariner Captain Mike Nicholson believes he has come up with the solution.

He has spent more than 10 years and thousands of hours researching the safest and most effective ways to moor a ship, and used all of the data to create a new app.

Written by his son Cameron, it costs £9.99 and the complex calculations can be completed in just 60 seconds.

Using the principal dimension of a vessel LOA (length overall), Mike has established a verifiable and reliable method to determine with a high confidence level; the transverse and longitudinal area of the vessel above the water line exposed to wind, and the transverse area below the water line exposed to current.

Mathematical calculations are then made to determine the maximum forces experienced by the vessel so that the number and type of mooring lines needed to restrain these forces is identified to those involved in securing the ship.

In essence, a complicated calculation has been simplified to use just five variables: length overall, vessel type, load condition, wind strength and current strength.

The app then tells the ship’s officer how many headlines, breast ropes and springs are required.

Mike said: “When you bring a ship alongside, there are a number of factors to consider including berth configuration, weather, wind speed and tide but once you are berthed, the important aspect is to keep it safely berthed.

"In doing so, you need to evaluate the forces acting on the vessel so that the lines don’t break due to the strain put on them by the environment.

“This app simplifies the many complex processes to determine the right number of mooring lines to deploy to prevent disasters such as we’ve seen in recent years when large ships break free, causing damage to the ship itself, riverside infrastructure and the marine environment.”

The app is designed for use with large ships over 100m and is primarily for ship’s officers, terminal operators and port authority staff. It is easily downloadable on both Apple and Google platforms.