First Subsea and Offspring International, the worldwide agent for the offshore division of Lankhorst Ropes, have introduced the LankoFirst series of fiber rope connectors for deepwater moorings that the companies say are stronger, lighter, smaller and more efficient than current plate links and thimbles. The device was designed to be safely and easily installed offshore, either vertically or horizontally.
Different versions of the LankoFirst can be used for fiber rope to fiber rope, fiber rope to wire rope, and fiber rope to chain connections. The connector is available with a clam-style connector, with spliced fiber rope enclosed in a clam shell case; a snap version for joining fiber rope to fiber rope, where the ropes are integrated with the connector during rope manufacture and simply snapped together offshore; and a link connector, for rope-to-rope connection where spliced ropes are integrated with female clevis head and male padeye connectors during manufacture and a pin connection offshore.
The new product was designed to address concerns with the integrity and efficiency of deepwater mooring connections, says Dave Rowley of Offspring International.
‘There have been issues with shackles in particular,’ he says. ‘There were a number of high-profile failures due to poor heat treatment, quality control, and so on. Shackles went out of favor and plate links took their place.’
The LankoFirst connector is designed to be lighter than plate links and faster to install offshore, he says. The companies will conduct field trials later this year with an operator in the North Sea.
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