FibreTrac Offshore Crane

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has secured a contract with Otto Candies LLC, of Des Allemands, Louisiana, to deliver an active heave compensated FibreTrac offshore crane.

• The order was booked in Cargotec’s 2022 first quarter order intake, with delivery expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Scope of supply encompasses full delivery of the 150t AHC crane, rated for the customer’s needs at 100t lifting capacity, together with Lankhorst Lanko Deep Dyneema DM20 fibre rope for 3400m operational depth. The crane is the first of its type and provides the ability to lift heavy loads at depths that normally require much larger cranes on larger vessels.

This highly innovative crane uses neutrally buoyant fibre rope with an Applied Fiber termination connecting directly to the hook allowing full payload at all depths. This is in contrast to standard wire-rope cranes, where the weight of the steel wire steadily robs the crane of its lifting capacity as more wire is paid out.

The FibreTrac concept was developed in close collaboration with Parkburn Precision Handling Systems, who will deliver the fibre rope Deepwater Capstan (DWC) that gently de-tensions the rope between the high-tension operational side and the low-tension storage side. Parkburn also developed the crane’s Lift Line Management System which manages rope health monitoring and feedback using a combination of sensing technologies and a lifetime usage algorithm developed by DSM based on their DM20 material.

The subsea AHC fibre-rope crane will have the world’s first DNV-DRS class notation based on the DNV-ST-E407 standard. This new standard governs how such a crane and its rope system can remain continually certified based on real-time measurements of rope health and represents a significant departure from earlier certifications based on prescriptive rules and periodic inspections.

The crane is the first of its type and provides the ability to lift heavy loads at depths that normally require much larger cranes on larger vessels.

Owners and operators can now have an up-to-date health status of every portion of the lift-line and use it confidently and to its fullest potential, instead of guessing based on work hours since the last inspection and cutting back or replacing it.

“The drive for better vessel utilisation and efficiency has never been stronger in the offshore world. Thanks to all who have contributed to developing this unique crane which we are very proud to get into operation.” says Jan Erik Pedersen, Senior Vice President, Offshore Solutions Division, MacGregor.