For the first time, a leading maritime ropes maker is giving vessel and fleet operators access to real-time mooring line tension and load data in a bid to increase mooring safety. With the maritime industry grappling with ever increasing mooring rope safety requirements, Lankhorst Ropes is the only rope manufacturer supplementing traditional passive data collection with real-time rope tension monitoring, taking an industry lead in mooring safety.

Over the past few years’, the introduction of OCIMF Mooring Equipment Guidelines (MEG4) guidelines, and this year the IMO’s SOLAS mooring guidelines, have placed the selection and testing of mooring lines, mooring line management and equipment at the forefront of industry efforts to improve mooring safety.

Lankhorst Raises the Bar

Lankhorst has gone further. It is now offering customers the Sureline real-time rope tension monitoring system, providing ‘live’ feedback on the loads experienced by mooring lines. Sensors in the core of the Lankhorst mooring rope allow crews to precisely monitor the performance of each rope, including rope tension, rope angle and peak loads during mooring.

Developed by UK based Sensor Technologies, the Sureline real-time rope tension monitoring system is available to Lankhorst Ropes customers under an exclusive rope manufacturer agreement. Without the benefit of real-time rope monitoring fleet operators have limited capability to assess remaining rope service life such as visual inspection and destructive testing of a rope sample.

“Our goal with Sureline is to help vessel and fleet operators to achieve two things: increased mooring safety, whilst at the same time maximising their mooring rope’s service life. We believe that using Sureline allows both to be achieved,” says Rui Faria, managing director, Lankhorst Ropes.

Lankhorst Academy

Sureline is the latest initiative by Lankhorst as part of its safer mooring strategy that includes Lankhorst Academy – the maritime industry’s first dedicated rope training facility covering all aspects of synthetic fibre and steel wire use.

Rui Faria again, “Lankhorst Ropes supplies rope to more market sectors than any other rope manufacturer. Lankhorst Academy allows us to pass on our knowledge of how Lankhorst’s ropes can be best utilised in each application, helping crews take care of the rope and get a better understanding of the overall rope performance parameters and the know-how to maximise rope service life. While Sureline allows us to work with ship operators to translate mooring data into better rope selection and procurement. Together these can help operators achieve a range of operational and wider benefits.”

Source: Lankhorst