Experiences using a synthetic fibre rope on a subsea construction vessel

Building on paper ODN 0961, presented at OPIEEC in 2019, this paper presents the in- service experiences, destructive and non-destructive inspection findings and the lessons learned when using synthetic ropes as a direct replacement on an existing 5Te tugger winch on a subsea construction vessel. The paper will cover the life of the rope from installation to the pre-planned removal from service for post discard inspection and will also include discussion on the safe use and inspection of the rope in operations. The 28mm diameter rope was installed in May 2019 and was removed in Dec 2023. It was in constant use on the deck and exposed to a variety of operations. The paper will also inform readers of the increased adoption of synthetic rope onboard the vessel, starting with one winch and now making use of the synthetic on multiple winches.

Author(s): R.Craig, T.Varnava