January 12 - Cargotec's MacGREGOR will this month deliver the world's first subsea knuckle-jib crane equipped with a system which uses fibre rope rather than steel wire rope for handling.
The 250 tonnes Hydramarine active heave-compensated (AHC) offshore crane is designed with a 250 tonnes/3,000 m single-line winch and is prepared for a 250 tonnes single-line fibre rope. The crane will be installed on the subsea vessel Havila Phoenix.
"MacGREGOR's technology for handling lightweight fibre rope rather than traditional steel wire rope offers several advantages that will meet the ever-increasing demands of the offshore industry as operators move further into deeper and more remote territories," says Øystein Bondevik, sales director in MacGREGOR's Offshore division.
"For example, due to the neutralisation of the weight of the fibre rope in the water, much heavier loads can be handled without strain to the crane at unlimited depths. Consequently, overall safety is improved due to the lighter equipment, which can still carry out heavy work operations."
