Retractable Advanced Mooring System (RAMS)

Retractable mooring fixtures are a critical component on the flight deck of a DDG51 class Navy ship. The chocks and bitts must be recessed below the deck level for helicopter operations, while reliably and easily deployed for mooring situations. The current mooring fixtures do not stand up to the highly corrosive environment of the flight deck and the lack of maintenance reduces the reliability of their performance. Mide"s Retractable Advanced Mooring System (RAMS) aims to make the mooring fixtures corrosion resistant to reduce/eliminate required maintenance and increase the reliability so they can easily be deployed when necessary. Eliminating maintenance allows for reduced manpower while also lowering the lifetime cost and extending the overall life of the fixtures. RAMS will also ease the deployment of the mooring fixtures, allowing for simplified and reliable use. Mide proposes to leverage its success with bulkhead shaft seals on the DDG51 class ship to further reduce unnecessary maintenance on the ship so that focus and time can be spent on more critical operations. Mide"s knowledge of sealing in highly corrosive environments and ability to simulate those functions using in-house test equipment makes RAMS a strong candidate to solve the current problem for the Navy.