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Ropes News

13 Dec 2023

Corroded Wire Rope Leads to Crane Failure on Bulk Carrier -NTSB

The Thorco Basilisk’s parted hoisting wire rope (crane side of fracture) was evaluated by a consulting company. (Source: Engineering Systems Inc)

Undetected corrosion and wear led to an equipment failure on a cargo ship while offloading cargo last year in Houston, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said.On July 23, 2022, the cargo ship Thorco Basilisk was offloading a wind turbine component at the Greensport Terminal on the Houston Ship Channel when the hoisting wire rope on one of the ship’s cargo cranes failed, causing the component to drop onto the vessel’s cargo hold tween deck.No injuries were reported.

09 Nov 2023

Shell Sues Greenpeace for Boarding Penguins FPSO While in Transit

©Greenpece

Shell is suing Greenpeace for $2.1 million in damages after the environmental group's activists boarded the company's oil production vessel in transit at sea this year, according to Greenpeace and a document seen by Reuters.The British oil and gas major filed the claim in London's High Court. Greenpeace activists boarded the vessel in January near the Canary Islands off the Atlantic coast of northern Africa to protest oil drilling and traveled on it as far as Norway.In an email to Reuters…

15 Oct 2023

Gard: Increase in Stern Tube Damage Concerning

Source: Gard

The number of stern tube-related damage claims has increased considerably over the last few years, and this is causing marine insurer Gard some concern.In the past, damage to a stern tube was often considered a relatively straightforward casualty by surveyors. The cause was often obvious – contact with a floating object such as ice, fishing nets or ropes, for example.These causes still exist, but the significant increase in frequency over the past years, without any apparent explanation…

10 Oct 2023

Kongsberg Sensors and Equipment for Germany's New Ocean Research Vessel

Norwegian marine equipment and technology firm Kongsberg will provide scientific sensors and scientific handling equipment for Germany’s new ocean research vessel, the 135-metre Meteor IV. The new 10,000GT vessel will be able to house 35 scientists plus 36 crew. Meteor IV will be built by MeyerFassmer Spezialschiffbau (MFSB) for the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The vessel, due for delivery in 2026, replaces existing research vessels Meteor and Poseidon.“We…

18 Jul 2023

MAIB Concerned Pilot Ladder Incidents are Under-Reported

© Matvejs / Adobe Stock

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released its 2022 annual report which includes details of its investigation into pilot ladder safety.The MAIB canvassed 105 UK Competent Harbour Authorities, and this revealed that almost 700 marine pilots conducted over 96,000 transfers underway using a pilot ladder, during which there were over 400 incidents or accidents.Just over half of these were reported to the MAIB, the most serious of which resulted in the pilot suffering…

09 Jun 2023

North American Lobster Industry Confronts 'Ropeless' Traps After Whale Entanglements

© norrie39 / Adobe Stock

An emerging technology to fish for lobsters virtually ropeless to prevent whale entanglements is exciting conservationists, but getting a frigid reception from harvesters worried it will drive them out of business and upend their way of life.Injuries to endangered North Atlantic Right Whales ensnared in fishing gear have fueled a prominent campaign by environmental groups to pressure the industry to adopt on-demand equipment that only suspends ropes in the water briefly before traps are pulled from the water.The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch…

06 Jun 2023

Threat to Whales Complicates US Research into Seaweed for Biofuel

© Tony / Adobe Stock

In Cape Cod Bay, 10-year-old Pilgrim and her calf skim the water's glassy surface alongside the Shearwater research vessel to feed on tiny crustaceans.The two are among the last surviving 340 or so North Atlantic right whales left migrating along the U.S. East Coast – down from 480 right whales in 2010.The biggest threats they face include being struck by passing ships or getting entangled in ropes used for lobster fishing off the U.S. East Coast - scientists have recorded 98 such injuries or deaths of whales since 2017.Now, the whales face another threat as the U.S.

01 Feb 2023

Greenpeace Activists Board Heavy-lift Vessel Carrying Shell's Penguins FPSO

Credit: Greenpeace

Four Greenpeace activists on Tuesday boarded the heavy transportation vessel carrying Shell's Penguins FPSO aboard, calling on the oil major to "Stop Drilling. Start Paying."Six Greenpeace International activists attempted, and four managed to board Boskalis' White Marlin vessel in the Atlantic Ocean north of the Canary Islands. The heavy transportation vessel is carrying the recently delivered 34,000t Penguins FPSO, which is planned to ultimately be deployed northeast of the Shetland Islands in the North Sea for the Penguins field project.

23 Jan 2023

Samson to Acquire Folch Ropes

Samson, a Wind River Holdings company, entered into a purchase agreement with Folch Ropes, S.A. For 144 years, Samson has been a leader in the development and manufacture of high-performance ropes. Samson is headquartered are in Ferndale, Washington.Folch Ropes is a Spanish manufacturing company headquartered in Llinars del Vallès Barcelona. Folch began manufacturing braided ropes for the steel industry in 1942 and has enjoyed four generations of family ownership.Both companies have had a long history of success in the rope business with strong brands and are aligned with operational excellence and manufacturing quality products, including ISO 9001: 2015 certifications.

12 Jan 2023

Lobsters Versus Right Whales

© karenfoleyphoto / Adobe Stock

Lobsters versus right whales: The latest chapter in a long quest to make fishing more sustainableMaine lobster fishermen received a Christmas gift from Congress at the end of 2022: A six-year delay on new federal regulations designed to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.The rules would have required lobstermen to create new seasonal nonfishing zones and further reduce their use of vertical ropes to retrieve lobster traps from the seafloor. Entanglement…

12 Dec 2022

How Do Floating Wind Turbines Work?

Three of the common types of floating wind turbine platform. (Image: Josh Bauer/NREL)

Northern California has some of the strongest offshore winds in the U.S., with immense potential to produce clean energy. But it also has a problem. Its continental shelf drops off quickly, making building traditional wind turbines directly on the seafloor costly if not impossible.Once water gets more than about 200 feet deep – roughly the height of an 18-story building – these “monopile” structures are pretty much out of the question.A solution has emerged that’s being tested in several locations around the world: wind turbines that float.In California…

22 Sep 2022

Holy Land Shipwreck Reveals Tenacity of Ancient Traders as Empires Shifted

© Eli Majewski / Adobe Stock

An ancient shipwreck found off the shore of Israel and loaded with cargo from all over the Mediterranean shows that traders from the West still came to port even after the Islamic conquest of the Holy Land, researchers say.A surprise storm? An inexperienced captain? Whatever the reason, the merchant ship made from fir and walnut trees and carrying containers with delights from far-off lands sank in the shallow waters off what is today the Israeli coastal community of Ma'agan Michael more than 1…

27 Jun 2022

Ship Recycling Market's 'New Normal' is Turmoil

Copyright katiekk2/AdobeStock

All of the major global recycling markets remain in turmoil for yet another week, with very few offers forthcoming (matching the near invisible number of units currently available for recycling), in addition to an utter lack of confidence from Recyclers across all locations that any sort of recovery is quite clearly not in the ropes anytime soon.There is the ongoing excruciating reminder that there are virtually no candidates to work on, as most ship owners are abstaining from…

14 Jun 2022

‘Recycled-based’ Dyneema: Lankhorst Supplies Heerema Heavy Lift Slings

Subsea Excavator rigging frame onboard SSCV Thialf showing LankoForce HL slings made with recycled-based Dyneema. Image courtesy Lankhorst

For the first time in the heavy lift industry, Lankhorst Ropes is supplying Heerema Marine Contractors with LankoForce HL slings manufactured with Dyneema SK78 fiber produced using post-consumer plastic waste as a feedstock. The LankoForce HL slings will be used on a 4-point lifting frame for an offshore lifting project.DSM is producing recycled-based Dyneema using ethylene from mixed plastic waste as a pilot project. This recycled-based fiber used for the LankoForce HL slings…

31 May 2022

Canadian Navy Names Pair of New Patrol Ships

(Photo: Irving Shipbuilding)

The Royal Canadian Navy's second and third Harry DeWolf-class Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) were officially named at Halifax Shipyard on Sunday.Named HMCS Margaret Brooke and HMCS Max Bernays in honor of two Canadians who served in the navy in the Second World War, the vessels are among six AOPS being delivered to the Royal Canadian Navy as part of the National Shipbuilding Strategy.“This is a proud day for our team of over 2,100 shipbuilders. These two ships are visible signs of the success of Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy.

23 May 2022

Samson Unveils Digital Solution for Towing Line Management

(Image: Samson)

Samson has launched ICARIA for Workboat, a full suite of digital services dedicated to tug line management. ICARIA for Workboat includes a new Inspection App designed to ease usage and condition data collection, an online portal CONNECT designed for trend and data analysis, and the company's online CLASSROOM, which includes courses designed to build crew competencies.ICARIA for Workboat will help users track line usage and maintenance, document damage, and provide the data to make line retirement decisions.The new Samson app available for iOS…

19 Apr 2022

Tech File: New Motor for Anchor, Mooring Winches

The Ex motor pictured in the front offers a unique combination of power (up to 200 kW), protection class (up to IP68), Ex area (IIC), temperature class (T4) and integrated brake function. The rear yellow Ex motor is a model with forced ventilation. Photo © BEN Buchele Elektromotorenwerke GmbH

BEN Buchele introduced a robust, low-maintenance three-phase asynchronous motor whose stable grey cast iron design is touted to withstand the harshest environmental conditions: salt water, salty air and extreme temperatures from -31 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit (-35 to 50 degrees Celsius). Depending on the requirements, the motor can be designed without a fan, with its own fan or with a forced cooling fan for the operating modes S1 (continuous operation), S2 or S3 (both short-time…

19 Nov 2021

New Report Tracks Sources of Marine Litter

(Photo: GESMAP)

The sources and impact of sea-based marine litter form the focus of a new report by the Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP), an advisory body to the United Nations sponsored by 10 UN entities. The report outlines the various sources of marine litter and the impact and assesses the current availability of data and identifies knowledge gaps for the main categories of sea-based sources of marine plastic litter. The Working Group was established by GESAMP…

17 Nov 2021

Samson Rope’s Training Materials Now Available on OTG’s Platform

(Photo: Samson Rope)

Samson and Ocean Technologies Group (OTG), a global learning and operational technology company serving the maritime industry, have agreed to collaborate to provide seafarers with on-demand access to Samson’s comprehensive set of online courses in rope handling, inspection, fabrication, and installation.The courses will be available on OTG’s Ocean Learning Platform, which was specially created to deliver blended learning, assessment, and competency management solutions that ultimately connect e-Learning and hands-on activity to improve knowledge…

09 Nov 2021

Greenpeace Settles Charges After Blocking Port of Houston in 2019

(Photo: Greenpeace)

Environmental activists who shut the largest U.S. energy export port for a day to protest climate change agreed to pay police, fire and court costs to settle state criminal charges, officials said on Friday.Greenpeace members halted shipping in September 2019 by dangling on ropes from a bridge over the Houston Ship Channel to bring attention to climate change concerns during a presidential debate in the city.Felony charges of disrupting critical energy infrastructure were later dismissed by a Houston grand jury.

01 Oct 2021

Academia’s Climate Change Challenge is Far from Academic

Mesobot, an underwater robot capable of tracking and recording high-resolution images of slow-moving and fragile zooplankton, gelatinous animals, and particles, is providing researchers with deeper insight into the vast mid-ocean region known as the twilight zone. © Evan Kovacs/©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Highlighted in Marine Technology Reporter's MTR100 is the work and technology ongoing in the halls of academia. The most recent report released by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emphasized our warming planet, an expected announcement for many in the scientific community. Faced with the confirmation that human activities have caused an increase in global temperatures, research has turned to seeking answers in the planet’s natural systems. How does each part of the global carbon cycle work and how may it be impacted by the changing climate?

07 Sep 2021

New Maritime Equipment Supplier Nordic Fender Opens for Business

(Photo: Nordic Fender)

Norwegian company Fonna Vekst announced it has formed a new maritime equipment supplier called Nordic Fender.The Husnes-headquartered firm offers products in ship and port fendering as well as equipment for transferring liquid cargo between ships, including hoses, couplings, ropes and chains to customers worldwide.Åsmund Lilleaas has been hired as sales director to run the business.Nordic Fenders main product line, the pneumatic fender series, is in full compliance with the ISO 17357-1:2014 standard.In addition to the office in Norway, Nordic Fender said it will soon open offices in strategic

27 May 2021

US Urges Change in Fishing Practices to Save Endangered Whales

(Photo: NOAA)

U.S. commercial fishing practices must change to prevent the extinction of North Atlantic right whales, the administration of President Joe Biden said on Thursday, as it prepares a list of new regulations to prevent whale entanglements in lobster and crab gear.The scientific assessment from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries unit is a milestone in finalizing a handful of proposed reforms of commercial fishermen mainly intended to reduce the amount of vertical rope in whale habitat.The lobster industry…

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