Timm Ropes Receives World's First Technology Certification
Established in year 1772 Timm ropes, now part of the Wilhelmsengroup, and still at the forefront of ...
[By: Wilhelmsen]
Established in year 1772 Timm ropes, now part of the Wilhelmsen
group, and still at the forefront of ropemaking. Timm’s Snap Back
Arrestor has received DNV’s Certified Technology approval, the world’s
first and only SBA rope to receive this.
Mooring lines snap at up to 800 km/h, making vessel mooring one of the most
dangerous tasks crew perform. Increasing safety for seafarers was at the centre when
Timm ropes launched debuted their Snap Back Arrestor (SBA) back in 2018. Their
innovative product is now recognised by becoming the only SBA rope in the world
with DNV Technology Qualification. The statement of qualified technology was
awarded following an extensive qualification process, performed in accordance with
DNV’s recommended practice A203. The process provided a systematic approach to
identify, verify and mitigate all possible threats and failure modes of the SBA
technology.
DNV’s thorough qualification process has taken more than four years, requiring
significant investment of both time and resources. “We are thrilled to see the
qualification now in place, our SBA rope is really one of a kind, and truly deserves the
recognition it is now getting, I am very happy for the team, and everyone involved”,
says Thomas Caradec, Technical Product Manager Ropes, Wilhelmsen Ships Service.
“Wilhelmsen Ships Service have with their snap-arrestor developed new technology
going beyond existing standards. The intension of the technology is to increase safety
in maritime by minimising the effect of snap-back in case of rope failure. DNV have
assisted Wilhelmsen Ships Service through the process of technology qualification as
the world’s first snap-back technology qualified by DNV, that is now proven to
function within specified limits with an acceptable level of confidence,” says Ingrid
Skutle Høgsæt, Principal Engineer with DNV.
Snap back accounts for a staggering 53% of mooring accidents, with a sobering 1 in 7
of those accidents resulting in fatalities. “This certification is a testament of all the
hard work that went into the development of the SBA. It shows that the performance
of the SBA has been verified in the most severe scenarios and in operational
conditions onboard vessels, thus demonstrating the robustness and reliability of the
technology, and a major step towards safer mooring for seafarers and port workers”,
continues Thomas Caradec.