Entire Maersk Line fleet to get Wilhelmsen SBA ropes

The entire fleet of Danish shipping major Maersk Line is to be equipped with Wilhelmsen’s Timm ropes featuring Snap Back Arrestor (SBA), the Norwegian maritime group said.

As informed, an intensive pilot project, involving several Maersk vessels of various sizes, tested the product’s functionality, standardization of sizing and compatibility with existing mooring designs over a nine-month period.

The pilot project was a result of close collaboration between Wilhelmsen’s marine products team and Maersk’s technical department.

“This new technology and innovative approach enables us to safely transform the mooring rope approach in our industry and help lead by example to protect our seafarer community and our dockworkers ashore,” Aslak Ross, Maersk’s Head of Marine Standards, said.

The Snap Back Arrestor (SBA) is an elongating core that sits within Timm Master 12-strand plaited, mixed polymer ropes or 12-strand HMPE ropes. With the appearance of a rope, held within the heart of a 12-strand mooring line, if the outer, load-bearing construction breaks, the SBA reduces the snap-back forces, transforming them from a potentially deadly snap to a much safer slump, according to Wilhelmsen.

Commenting on the fleet wide implementation, Veronika Aspelund, Business Manager, Wilhelmsen said: “Maersk has been an active supporter of what we’ve been trying to do with the Snap Back Arrestor, … improving mooring safety from the very beginning. I’m very proud that they wanted to be first in line to put our product through its paces and now together we can equip their whole fleet with this unique mooring solution”.

Traditional mooring ropes typically have a five-year lifespan and Maersk will be implementing an exchange program in which their current mooring ropes will be replaced at the end of their lifecycle with Timm SBA ropes. Full fleet implementation with Timm SBA ropes is planned to be completed within five years.

Launched in May 2019, Timm Ropes with SBA are proven in the lab and at sea, type approved by DNV GL and tested according to the latest 4th Edition of the OCIMF Mooring Equipment Guidelines.