Page 93: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 1998)

In its continual quest to raise the bar of safety and efficiency,

Arco Marine Inc. initiated a two year test of Spectra Fiber-make ropes in place of traditional wire rope for the docking lines for one of its tankers. After more than two years, Arco reported that the lines supplied by Whitehill

Manufacturing Corp. and made of

Spectra Fiber not only provided essential strength and durability, they also helped increase safety for its personnel. In fact, the company was reported to be so pleased that it replaced the steel-wire lines on all nine of its oil tankers with the new lines.

To quantify the benefits, Arco conducted its own in-house survey and found that back injuries attributed to wire rope mooring (Continued from page 74) charts are of poor quality and out- dated. The new technique uses earth observation data from satel- lites, and reportedly provides a lower-cost option for mapping coastal water depth. The system could prove useful for assessment of new coastal facilities in develop- ing countries, as well as providing a method for updating old coastal charts.

Eye In The Sky

As interesting as the new prod- ucts prove to be, it is perhaps even more interesting to find out how they were developed. The products arose from a research evaluation program for the maritime industry in conjunction with Dutch partner

ARGOSS, and funded by the

European Commission's Center for

Earth Observation.

The maritime information prod- ucts exploit Earth Observation data from a new generation of microwave sensors which have come into practical use for com- mercial applications in the 90s.

Earth Observation data comes from sensors on satellites which measure the electromagnetic radi- ation, either from natural radia- tion or from transmitted signal reflections. Different sensors oper- ate in the visible, thermal or microwave parts of the electromag- netic spectrum.

Circle 128 on Reader Service Card

Circle 339 on Reader Service Card September, 1998 75

Marine Engineering

Arco Replaces Wire Rope For Tanker Fleet lines were reduced 100 percent.

The study also found that the new

Spectra Fiber ropes helped reduce docking time, in some cases up to 60 percent. The company reports a docking time of between 60 and 75 minutes with steel wire ropes, while the Spectra Fiber ropes allowed fewer people to perform the task in less time, a reported 30 to 45 minutes.

Spectra Fiber, developed by

AlliedSignal Inc., is reported to be 10 times stronger than steel of

Arco tested Spectra Fiber lines in place of traditional wire rope for docking its tankers. After two years of testing, the company switched its nine-tanker fleet to the new lines, as it found that they helped in increasing safety and productivity.

Developed by AlliedSignal, Spectra Fiber is reported to be 10 times stronger than steel of equal weight. equal weight. The cordage is light- weight, naturally buoyant and resistant to wear-and-tear and degradation from water and most chemicals, as well as from ultra- violet radiation.

Arco's Prudhoe Bay and Sag

River ships tested Whitehill's

VETS 276-5, a four-strand, two-in. diameter Spectra Fiber rope with a 230,000-lb. minimum break strength. George McShea, Arco's manager of vessel operations, said that the Spectra Fiber-based ropes have tested at 96 percent of their rated break strength. In addition,

Arco tested the line on tankers that dock every seven or eight days.

Circle 129 on Reader Service Card i

Cut Your Ship Dockinq Time

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Mooring Master™ D-7: Designed to meet the rigors of the marine industry with maximum strength, service life durability, deck handling flexibility and firmness for winch drums. The seven braided core strength members are produced from UHMWPE (ultra high molecular weight polyethylene) fibers. The strength members are covered by a braided nylon chafe-protection cover. The cover allows the strength cores to do their work without exposure to external wear surfaces.

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