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TECHNOLOGY - SHIP TO SHORE INTERFACE A Ropey Business With today's tankers and their attendant tugs becoming more powerful, so powerful in fact that some mooring equipment, such as bitts, is becoming damaged on a regular basis, fibre is increasingly replacing wire in rope technology. One company, DSM Dyneema has developed what it calls, its patented ultra-strong Dyneema fibre, which has been taken up by rope manufacturers for the LNG and For wire, read fibre. oil transport sectors. This fibre was developed through research and development in close cooperation with end users and rope manufacturers, such as Bridon in the UK and Samson in the US. Dyneema claimed that the strength-to-strength ratio of the fibre rope allowed the manufacturers to engineer lighter and more flexible ropes without comprising its strength. A number of advantages were claimed over the more traditional steel wire and conventional synthetic fibres, including a much lighter weight making the lines easier and faster to handle, reducing mooring times and the seafarers' physical workload. The material's low elongation minimised rope backlash for improved safety on board ship and ashore. Maintenance costs are also reduced as ropes with the Dyneema fibre will not damage chocks, bits, fairleads, or other parts of the vessel, nor do they need to be lubricated, resulting in less possible pollution to the environment and on the deck of the vessel. In addition they have an increased service life, DSM Dyneema claimed. Alaska Tanker has been in the news recently for the wrong reasons, but said that the company has been using mooring lines with the fibre for four years and is very satisfied with the performance. "The lines are holding up well and the crews especially like working with the lines, as they are much lighter and easier to work with that the wire rope we had previously used," said Bill Gould, port captain Alaska Tanker. DSM Dyneema said that the company was working closely with the rope manufacturers to develop new technologies based on the Dyneema fibre. Edwin Grootendorst, DSM Dyneema's market segment manager mooring explained," By pooling our expertise with manufacturers and end-users, we are making significant strides in creating the next generation of marine ropes." Dyneema is marketed by DSM, which claimed it is the world's strongest fibre. It is an ultra strong polyethylene fibre that offers maximum strength combined with minimum weight. It is claimed to be up to 15 times stronger than quality steel and up to 40% stronger than aramid fibres, both on a weight for weight basis. It can float on water and is extremely durable and water, UV light and chemical resistant. James Mackay of UK rope manufacturer Bridon said the company was making a major push into the LNGC market, which the company entered four or five years ago. Mackay said that Bridon has secured 90% of the market for LNG carriers, mainly coming out of South Korea yards. He said that Bridon had been involved in the manufacture of mooring lines since 1991 and had been involved with Dyneema synthetic tow lines since the late 1980s/early 1990s. Explaining the need for new rope technology Mackay said that with very powerful escort tugs in service, especially in Alaska, mooring ropes were needed with a break load of up to 127 tonnes. On average, each vessel will have between 24-26 sets of ropes, making it a significant piece of business. The rope is manufactured in Coatbridge, Scotland and the new fibre rope can have a service life of 10 years. Some training of seafarers is necessary to keep the rope operational for long periods of time, Mackay said and to make them comfortable with the fact that they are not dealing with steel. The rope tends to become damaged rather than suffer from fatigue as it will not react to sharp bends and edges as with wire rope. He did admit that the new fibre rope was two to three times the cost of the traditional wire rope, but that end users would see long term benefits in that no dedicated equipment or grease was necessary and the rope needed minimum maintenance. In the oil tanker sector, Mackay said that BP Shipping was a major customer as it was in the LNGC sector and has been since 1998. Other tanker owners and managers using Bridon ropes included Besiktas, Vela, SeaRiver, Alaska Tanker, OSG, Keystone Shipping and Polar Tankers. TO 40 TANKEROperator • March 2007
CAPITAL LINK FORUM Invest in International Shipping Presentations & Panels March 23, 2007 Shipping in a New Era Cantor Fitzgerald - Anthony Argyropoulos, Managing Director Containers Fortis Securities - Gregory Lewis, Shipping Analyst Danaos Corporation - John Coustas, CEO Euroseas - Aristides Pittas, CEO Lazard Capital Markets - Urs Dur, Vice President, Equity Research Howe Robinson Hamburg - Nick Bailey, Director Investing through Blank Check Companies Maxim Group - Clifford Teller, Director Gas (LNG / LPG) Fortis Securities - Dan Barrett, Head of Equity Research MC Shipping - Tony Crawford, CEO Morgan Keegan - Michael Drickamer, V.P, Equity Research Lorentzen & Stemoco - Thor Erik Lie, Partner & Director, Gas Department The Baltic Exchange - Jeremy Penn, Chief Executive Metropolitan Club One East 60th Street New York City In Cooperation With Tankers (Products & Crude) Fortis Securities - Dan Barrett, Head of Equity Research Arlington Tankers - Arthur Regan, President & Co-CEO Omega Navigation - George Kassiotis, CEO Tsakos Energy Navigation - Nikolas Tsakos, CEO JPMorgan - Jonathan Chappell, V.P., Transportation Analyst Mallory, Jones, Lynch, Flynn & Associates - John Stichter, Partner Shipping and The Global Economy Today Fortis Merchant Banking - Guy Verberne, Head of Economic Research Dry Bulk Fortis Securities - Lewis, Shipping Analyst DryShips - George Economou, CEO Excel Maritime - Christopher Georgakis, CEO Quintana Maritime - Stamatis Molaris, CEO TBS International - Joe Royce, CEO Jefferies & Company - Douglas Mavrinac, Maritime Group Head Clarkson Hellas - George Margaronis, Managing Director Media Sponsors Barron's Bloomberg Forbes.com Institutional Investor Tanker Operator TradeWinds FOR INFORMATION & REGISTRATION CALL 212-661-7566 OR E-MAIL shipping@capitallink.com www.capitallink.com
Page 1 and 2: TANKEROperator MARCH 2007 Features:
Page 3 and 4: TANKEROperator Vol 6 No 2 Digital S
Page 5 and 6: INDUSTRY - NEWS Letter to the Edito
Page 7 and 8: INDUSTRY - NEWS Karl Lumbers - Redu
Page 9 and 10: A more technologically advanced tug
Page 11 and 12: INDUSTRY - MARKETS available, the r
Page 13 and 14: Material costs Scheduling Productiv
Page 16 and 17: INDUSTRY - CYPRUS REPORT Limassol
Page 18 and 19: INDUSTRY - US REPORT Is shipping a
Page 20 and 21: INDUSTRY - US REPORT Cash in the ba
Page 22 and 23: INDUSTRY - CMA/INTERTANKO REPORT It
Page 24: INDUSTRY - CMA/INTERTANKO REPORT ch
Page 27 and 28: Winner - Sea Trade, Dubai Internati
Page 30: INDUSTRY - SHIPMANAGEMENT employmen
Page 33 and 34: TECHNOLOGY - NAVAIDS What’s the l
Page 35 and 36: TECHNOLOGY - NAVAIDS Integrated bri
Page 37 and 38: in marine fuels Sorry we couldn’t
Page 39 and 40: One pump One tank One supplier Fran
Page 41: TECHNOLOGY - SHIP TO SHIP TRANSFER

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