30 April 2019 – MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has completed the construction of FibreTrac, the first fibre-rope offshore crane to enter the market. The crane’s full potential is being validated and its capabilities have recently been demonstrated at an event in Kristiansand, Norway.
“The project to build, certify and validate the MacGregor FibreTrac crane is the result of our confidence in its potential,” says Høye Høyesen, Vice President, Advanced Offshore Solutions, MacGregor. “We strongly believe in the advantages that it will deliver to our customers.
“FibreTrac uses existing, proven technologies combined in a new application that offers deep-water load handling operators a simple pathway to some of the most significant cost-saving advantages seen in decades.”
FibreTrac is able to exploit its full lifting capacity because fibre-rope weighs virtually nothing in water, so no additional load is experienced by the crane, regardless of the length of rope used during load handling operations. This is in complete contrast to steel wire-rope cranes.
“In practical terms, this means that a smaller crane and vessel can be used for more assignments, and owners are able to bid on a wider range of contracts,” Mr Høyesen highlights. “The ability to use smaller vessels for deep-water projects will also drive down the cost of these operations and give our customers a stronger competitive edge.
“Feedback from the event was extremely positive,” Mr Høyesen continues. “We were able to present the finished crane to demonstrate how the shift from steel-rope to fibre-rope in offshore cranes is technologically possible and how the crane delivers substantial cost benefits to owners, particularly for deep-water projects.
“Questions were answered and we could show that although the crane is new, the technology is tested, combining decades of MacGregor’s load handling expertise with the fibre-rope tensioning and handling skills of Parkburn Precision Handling Systems.”
Designed to comply with rigorous DNV GL regulations, the FibreTrac crane has a 150-tonne safe working load (SWL) capacity and features an advanced rope monitoring and management system that maximises rope lifespan and provides clear lift line status information for the operator at all times.
For further information, please contact:
Høye Høyesen
Vice President, Advanced Offshore Solutions, MacGregor
Tel: +47 907 61 098
Email: hoye.hoyesen@macgregor.com
or
Robin Thuillier
Director, Communications, MacGregor
Tel: +65 9730 4301
Email: robin.thuillier@macgregor.com
MacGregor is a leader in intelligent maritime cargo and load handling with a strong portfolio of MacGregor, Hatlapa, Porsgrunn, Pusnes, Rapp and Triplex products, services and solutions, all designed to perform with the sea.
Shipbuilders, shipowners and operators are able to optimise the lifetime profitability, safety, reliability and environmental sustainability of their operations by working in close cooperation with MacGregor. www.macgregor.com
MacGregor is part of Cargotec. Cargotec’s (Nasdaq Helsinki: CGCBV) sales in 2018 totalled approximately EUR 3.3 billion and it employs around 12,000 people worldwide. www.cargotec.com
