Located at the Port of Ashburton – 15km south of Onslow – MinRes’ marine operation utilises shallow-draft transhippers to ferry 20,000 tonnes of iron ore 40km offshore to awaiting ocean going vessels (OGV).
Once at the OGV anchorage, transhippers unload iron ore product at a rate of 6,000 tonnes per hour (tph), before returning to the Port to reload.
Two berthing dolphins at the port are equipped with twin automoor units developed by marine industry leader MacGregor.
Once a positioning dolphin guides the transhipper into its precise berth position, the remotely controlled automoor units are lowered and hooked onto the vessel’s purpose-built bollards.
Each automoor hook boasts a 60-tonne operating capacity - replacing traditional rope mooring with a secure, hands‑off system - and reduces tie‑up and let‑go times by 25 minutes when compared to conventional mooring lines.
This improved turnaround opens the berth for loading an extra two hours per day – a significant boost in operational productivity.
Traditional mooring lines carry a well‑known risk of snapback incidents, which have long been a leading cause of serious injury and fatalities in port environments.
By eliminating the need for mooring lines at the terminal 95% of the time, automoor dramatically reduces crew exposure to this hazard.
MinRes Peak transhipper Master Sam Felstead said the technology on show in MinRes’ marine operations is industry leading.
“The automoor system allows us to pull up alongside the terminal within a matter of minutes, but the most important part is that it keeps our crew hands off from what is traditionally one of the most dangerous operations in mooring a ship,” Sam said.
MinRes Executive General Manager Marine Jeff Weber said the greenfield nature of the Port and transhippers meant fabrication tolerances could be built into the design.
“While automoor technology is new to Australia, it has been used in European ferry terminals where quick turnaround times are required for many years,” Jeff said.
“We’ve seen significant efficiencies using this system, but the most important benefit has been removing our crews from a traditionally high-risk aspect of the mooring process.”
Onslow Iron is one of Australia’s most innovative iron ore projects, developed to unlock stranded deposits in the West Pilbara that would otherwise remain undeveloped.
MinRes has designed, constructed, and now operates integrated pit‑to‑ship mining and transport infrastructure for the operation.
In August 2025, the operation achieved its nameplate capacity of 35 million tonnes per annum, with automoor technology forming one aspect of the project's innovative pit-to-ship supply chain.
Learn more about Onslow Iron and MinRes’ innovative transhipping solution.
