04 Nov

Record SPM production

2013 – 2014 has seen record-breaking levels of Single Point Mooring hawser orders and production at Lankhorst Ropes’ state-of-the-art manufacturing facility near the port of Viana do Castelo, Portugal. With demand expected to continue, Offspring International sales and marketing director Mark Brooks is encouraging terminal operators to consider their SPM needs earlier rather than later.

“We’ve seen a progressive increase in demand for Lankhorst Single Point Mooring (SPM) systems as terminal operators take advantage of the highly competitive technical, design and service package offered by Offspring International,” says Mark Brooks.

Hawsers are manufactured from premium quality yarns of multifilament nylon, HT polyester and blended fibres; and can be supplied with Integral Flotation system and/ or PU encapsulation for increased durability and operational cost savings. All SPM systems are supplied in strict accordance with the OCIMF 2000 and 2007 “Guidelines for the Purchasing and Testing of SPM Hawsers.”

“SPM are tailored to suit individual location requirements and water temperatures. For existing customers who are replacing the hawsers we can often draw on test data from retired hawsers to assist with optimising the design of the replacement to increase its service life,” notes Mark.

In addition to ropes Offspring International’s Single Point Mooring range also includes: chafe chains, pick-up and messenger ropes, support buoys, shackles, associated fittings, load monitoring equipment and marine hose ancillary equipment.

State-of-the-art SPM Manufacture

The Viana do Castelo factory has over 3,600m² production facilities together with 2,400m² storage area. In addition to rope production machinery, the factory includes a large SPM make-up and storage area reflecting the factory’s increased SPM production capacity. It also features a 12 strand braiding machine – a Herzog SE 1/12-2000, for production of roundbraids from 20-200mm diameter allowing Lankhorst to offer a broader range of offshore ropes.

For more information on Offspring International’s range of single point mooring systems call +44 (0)1384 453880, email: mail@offspringinternational.com and visit www.offspringinternational.com.