Quick Release Mooring Hooks
The quick release hook at a hazardous berth: one line per hook, rated to the strongest line expected, releasable under full load, and its load monitoring.
A quick release hook is the shore-side mooring fitting at an oil, gas or chemical berth, designed so that a mooring line under full tension can be let go immediately, manually or remotely, without first taking the load off it. It is the fitting that makes an emergency departure from a hazardous berth possible.
The full article will set out the design rules that OCIMF and SIGTTO practice rests on: one line per hook, so a berth must carry enough hooks for the mooring pattern it expects; each hook rated at not less than the breaking strength of the strongest line anticipated; and every hook individually releasable across the whole range from zero load to its rated capacity. It will also cover hook sets on a common release, capstan integration for heaving the line ashore, and the load cells now commonly fitted for mooring tension monitoring, with their annual calibration.
The hook is a different device from the tug-side quick release used on a towing hook, and the two are frequently confused in specifications.