The Grouted Screw Mooring is a patented mooring system with applications in all marine areas. The Grouted Screw Mooring has been readily accepted as an environmentally friendly solution to mooring vessels in sensitive areas. The environmental impact of the Grouted Screw Mooring is negligible, and many have been installed in areas where any other type of anchor would not have been allowed. The major environmental advantage of the mooring is the avoidance of chain-drag on the seafloor.

The only visible evidence of the mooring on the seafloor is a small “footprint”; a metal head to secure the mooring line. The rigging doesn’t contact the seabed as it goes straight up towards the surface where it is attached to a subsurface buoy. This buoy acts in a reverse catenary role, minimising shock loading to the system and vessel.

The Grouted Screw Mooring is designed to screw into almost any substrate type, except for hard igneous rocks. A container, with all the required equipment, can transport the custom- built drill rig, which is specifically designed for installing the Grouted Screw Mooring. The Mooring Machine consists of a surface unit with a stand-alone diesel power unit running the pneumatics, hydraulics and grout pumping. The machine is connected to the subsurface drill unit via an 80-metre umbilical. The subsurface drill unit consists of two aluminium buoyancy tanks and the specialised drill head. This unit is controlled by the diver and has a fine degree of buoyant control, allowing gentle and correct placement of the drill unit, minimising any potential environmental damage.

As the mooring shaft (size and length variable) is screwed into the seafloor, grout is extruded into the substrate through an orifice on the lead helix. This mixes with the substrate to create a concrete column to encapsulate the steel screw mooring, thus creating an incredibly strong mooring point with massive holding power.

The Grouted Screw Mooring is tailored to suit individual needs, vessel type and size, substrate type, and local weather conditions. Once installed, the mooring is very simple to use. The vessel operator simply uses the pickup line from the surface buoy to moor the vessel. The loop at the end of the pickup line is normally encased in plastic to protect against wear.