Marine Fenders are buffers between vessels and the wharfs. The principal function of a fendering system is to provide protection for both wharf and vessel by absorbing the vessel's berthing energy thus reducing the forces on both the wharf structure and vessel. The use of fender allows a reduction of wharf construction costs and provides ship owners with a satisfactory system for ship protection.

Fendering systems vary from quite complicated arrangements to virtually no fendering. The simpler, the better. The most usual form of modern fendering is rubber in various shapes, an improvement of the old rubber tire or steel flexible piles.