03 Jun

Lankofirst fibre rope connector for quicker deepwater MODU mooring

Offshore trials of the Lankofirst synthetic fibre rope mooring connector have shown a significant reduction in mooring line deployment times and improvements in health and safety compared with traditional mooring line plate links and thimbles, reports deepwater mooring rope specialist, Lankhorst Ropes Offshore Division (LROD).

The cost and complexity of deploying deepwater moorings is driving the development of new mooring line technologies and deployment methodologies. Lankhorst, in collaboration with LROD worldwide agent, Offspring International and subsea mooring connector specialist First Subsea, has developed the Lankofirst fibre rope connector specifically for deepwater fibre connections. Smaller, lighter, stronger and more efficient than current plate links and thimbles, the Lankofirst is easier to make-up and the rope splice slimmer and lighter for the same MBL. The Lankofirst can be used for all fibre rope mooring connections including rope-rope, rope-wire and rope-chain connectors.

The recent trial offshore Norway has shown that the Lankofirst connector can be assembled in 15 minutes, compared with at least 1 hour 15 minutes for a traditional shackle. In addition only two people are needed to assemble the connector, unlike a shackle which usually requires three people, requiring fewer people on deck during hazardous line make-up operations.

Lankofirst fibre rope connector

The Lankofirst fibre rope connector is made from forged steel using First Subsea’s world leading research into optimal steel grades for long-term deepwater subsea mooring connectors. The company was the first manufacturer of offshore mooring connectors to achieve American Bureau of Shipping’s ABS 2009 Approval for specialist subsea mooring connectors covering the design and manufacture of large scale forgings over 500mm in diameter.

“In place of a large spliced soft eye normally used with H-link and shackle connections, the Lankofirst uses a sub-connector Donut which is integrated into the rope termination during manufacture. The innovative and smaller donut splice is much easier to handle offshore, says Dave Rowley, director, Offspring International Ltd.

For maximum installation flexibility, the Lankofirst is offered with clam, snap and link connections. The offshore trials used the clam design, the snap and link are in development. The connection is made by inserting the two rope sub-connectors into the open clam, and then bolting the clam shut. This contrasts with the assembly of the shackle connection which involved inserting the shackle into the splice eye and then hammering in the large diameter retaining bolt.

Chris Johnson, sales director, Lankhorst Ropes said, “As offshore projects move to deeper waters the number of connectors per mooring line will increase, and so the ease of assembly and time saving benefits with Lankofirst will make a substantial impact of reducing deepwater MODU mooring line installation times and thus deployment costs.”

For more information on Lankofirst and advances in deepwater mooring contact contact Dave Rowley, director, Offspring International on email: david.rowley@offspringinternational.com