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    1. Regional Reports

    Lankhorst Ropes unveils faster deepwater mooring line connectors

    Nov. 3, 2009
    Lankhorst Ropes Offshore Division (LROD) has unveiled the LankoFirst range of fiber rope connectors for deepwater mooring systems at the Deep Offshore Technology Conference.

    Offshore staff

    MONACO -- Lankhorst Ropes Offshore Division (LROD) has unveiled the LankoFirst range of fiber rope connectors for deepwater mooring systems at the Deep Offshore Technology Conference. The new range, developed by subsea mooring connector specialist, First Subsea and LROD worldwide agent, Offspring International, are designed to ease the connection and deployment offshore of deepwater fiber mooring lines. They include rope-rope, rope-wire, and rope-chain connectors.

    The company claims that the LankoFirst range are smaller, lighter, stronger, and more efficient than current plate links and thimbles. They are also easier to make-up, it adds, and the rope splice is slimmer, and therefore lighter, for the same MBL. LankoFirst fiber connectors are designed for safe, easy assembly offshore, either vertically or horizontally. The sub-connectors are integrated with the spliced rope during rope manufacture to safeguard the quality of the splice and to save time when assembling the connectors on the vessel.

    According to Dave Rowley, director, Offspring International: “As offshore projects move to deeper waters the number of fiber rope connectors needed will increase, and so the ease of assembly and time saving benefits with LankoFirst will make a substantial impact of reducing mooring line installation times.”

    The new range, manufactured from the same materials as First Subsea’s subsea mooring connectors, the LankoFirst, is designed to run and retrieve across the mooring vessel's stern rollers and on anchor handling ships. To maximize installation flexibility, the LankoFirst connector is available in three types of connection: clam, snap, and link. With the clam connection, the sub-connector is spliced with the rope during manufacture and enclosed within clam shell case during deployment for fiber rope to fiber rope (R2R) and fiber rope to chain (R2C) connections.

    The snap connector is for fiber rope to fiber rope (R2R) connections where the spliced rope is integrated with the connector during rope manufacture, then snapped together offshore. The link connector is for fiber rope to fiber rope (R2R) where spliced ropes integrated with connectors (female clevis head and male padeye) during rope manufacture and a pin connection made offshore.

    11/04/2009