Page 54: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 2026)

TECH FILES

Pal? nger Marine launched its new crane PFM 1500 at the Aqua Nor event last year. ©tommy_grønning

Simplicity & Safety

INSPIRE DECK

MACHINERY INNOVATION

Deck machinery OEMs are applying smart solutions to complex problems.

By Wendy Laursen n standard lashing system with rigid turnbuckles, the a steel to steel connection in the turnbuckle and it works as lashing loads are normally unevenly distributed be- a standard, traditional turnbuckle.” The elastic material is a tween upper and lower lashings (turnbuckle + lashing standard product which is already in use for cleats and the bar). The upper lashings are taking most of the stress bearing pads used to compensate for the movement between

Iwhile lower lashings are working only at around half the hull of the vessel and hatch covers.

of capacity. In worst cases this has led to damages on the con- As well as improving safety, the reduction of the load on tainers, especially on container corner castings. The resulting the upper lashing enables container payload on deck to be in- cracks in the container corner castings may be dif? cult to spot, creased by up to 10%. The patented system is already in use leading to escalating damage and risk. on three major container lines and hundreds of vessels, and

MacGregor has introduced a simple yet effective solution class societies are beginning to adjust the calculations they by inserting an elastic element that gives the otherwise stan- use to determine payload limits accordingly.

dard upper turnbuckle and lashing bar the ability to respond In another materials-based development, HD Hyundai to the changing clearance so that both the upper and lower Samho has delivered the world's ? rst LPG carrier equipped lashings share the load equally. This keeps the twistlocks and with Hybrid Vertical Support (HVS) technology that keeps gas lashing system in balance, increasing safety by reducing the tanks from ? oating if the ship ? oods. The system, developed risk of lashing bar failure. by HD Hyundai, replaces the heavy steel structures that are tra- “The elastic element provides increased range that compen- ditionally placed on top of tanks to hold them down with light- sates the vertical clearance of the twistlock, and only after that weight, strong carbon ? ber that anchors the tanks from the bot- does the turnbuckle start to carry load,” says Perttu Jokinen, tom. This makes the ship lighter and more fuel-ef? cient, while

Technical Manager (Lashings). “The elastic element will be also creating more space and reducing maintenance costs.

totally squeezed after some 5 tonnes, and after that there is Specialist vessels are employing increasingly complexity 54 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • April 2026

MR #4 (50-61).indd 54 MR #4 (50-61).indd 54 4/2/2026 10:05:54 AM4/2/2026 10:05:54 AM