Tug of War Plasma Rope with Spectra Fiber Wins Battle for Strongest Towline in the Sea When heavy ships are maneuvered in rough waters with a small crew, or oil tankers are escorted through narrow confined channels, an ordinary towline won t do the job. Whatever the task, tugboats require ship-assist ropes that are extraordinarily strong, yet light enough for a crew of only a few men to handle. Tugboat operators across the globe have found a solution that meets their needs for the most demanding jobs: Plasma ropes manufactured from Honeywell s Spectra fiber. Made by Puget Sound Rope Corp. with a unique, patented 12 x 12 braided construction, these are some of the world s strongest synthetic ropes for their weight and are so light, they float. Puget Sound s 12 x 12 construction method has proved to be a remarkable innovation, said Joel Altus, Foss Maritime s supervisor of vessel rigging. Spectra fiber is an integral part of the program. The results have been impressive: Marine towing companies find they are saving time and money by using Plasma ropes. By using these lightweight ropes, companies have the potential to increase safety for workers, lower workers compensation costs, and boost crew confidence and morale, according to companies using them. Companies are typically able to accomplish double or even triple the number of jobs with the same line versus other ropes. The lighter ropes have contributed to a significant drop in back injuries on deck, the number one insurance claim on boats. A nine-inch-diameter Plasma rope weighs slightly over two pounds per foot (3 kg/meter), whereas a comparable-size polyester rope is more than double the weight with only one-third of the strength.
The workers found it hard to believe a rope that small could have that amount of strength, said Geoff Grosskreutz, technical manager of Queensland Tug and Salvage, an Adstream Marine company. Now, they accept it and are happy with it. Plasma ropes consistently return much better dollars-per-tow figures than those of any of its competitors. This case study looks at the successes three global companies have experienced with Plasma ropes: Adstream Marine of Australia, the largest tugboat operator in Australia; Foss Maritime, a leading Seattle-based marine transportation company; and Jeyco Pty Ltd., an Australian marine-rigging supplier. Changing Tides for the Tugboat Industry The introduction of tractor tugs in the early 1980s changed the way tugs assisted ships in their berths. The tractor tug represented a major advancement in tugboat design with its state-of-the-art propulsion system and controllable pitch blades. The entire scheme of ship assist and high-speed tanker escort changed radically, said Altus of Foss, whose company pioneered tractor tug technology in North America. It was revolutionary. Unlike conventional tugs, which move only forward and backward, a tractor tug can apply power and thrust the payload in all directions. Because of their maneuverability, tractor tugs have been touted as a safer escort for ships, particularly oil tankers. With tractor tugs, a single line replaced the three to four lines that were previously deployed to the ship. A towline was needed that had extraordinary strength and excellent impact resistance because of the tractor tug s swift maneuverability. In Australia, one of the biggest factors that drove tugboat operators to seek a better solution to multiple lines was a reform to reduce the crew size from four to three -- a master, engineer and deckhand. The country s occupational health and safety laws mandated increased safety on tugboats because of the high incidents of back injuries by deckhands. Tugboat operators in Australia sought a way to increase productivity with a smaller crew, while at the same time improving safety.
Plasma Ropes Answer the Need Plasma ropes made with Spectra fiber have proven to be a viable solution in North America and Australia, offering one of the highest strengths, lightest weights, lowest stretch and meets the low creep required. Its soft, torque-free braided construction also makes it easier for the crew to handle. The introduction of Plasma ropes and the 12 x 12 construction has been the biggest single change to the industry in the past two decades, according to Simon Taylor, Jeyco s managing director. Plasma rope came along at the right time. It is an enhanced form of Spectra fiber with higher strength. Plasma rope is one of the highest-strength synthetic ropes available for its weight. By manufacturing it from Honeywell s Spectra fiber, Puget Sound has further enhanced the fiber s inherent properties using its patented "recrystallization process." Tugboat Operators Lower Costs Compared with polyester ropes, the costs per tow using Plasma rope are about half -- or $7 per tow -- according to average figures compiled from Jeyco s customers. The prices range based on the job being done. In addition, companies are saving on workers compensation and health-insurance costs. By switching from polyester ropes to Plasma ropes made with Spectra fiber, harbor towage contractor Queensland has cut its costs in half to under $12 (U.S.) per tow. It is using the same mainline for as many as 1,200 jobs and Plasma rope towing tails for up to 600 jobs. Another cost-saving benefit is the ease of repairing this rope. In fact, Puget Sound s 12 x 12 braided rope is the first truly repairable braided rope, according to its manufacturer, and can easily be repaired by replacing a damaged strand, keeping it in use longer. The rope also is easy to inspect by the users to determine when retirement is necessary.
Foss Maritime Switches to Spectra Fiber from Steel Foss Maritime -- a century-old marine transportation company that was founded in Tacoma, Washington, and is now owned by Marine Resources Inc. - - began using steel-wire rope but found that its high weight and unpredictable snapback were putting seaman at risk. Foss operates more than 110 tugs and 90 barges of various sizes for harbor services ocean towing, environmental services, and ship assist and terminal services. Over the years, Foss has tried many different fibers, constructions and suppliers for lines to find the one that would work best for its demanding applications. It started using Spectra fiber ropes in the late 1980s. Puget Sound s introduction in 1994 of Plasma ropes offered what Foss had long been seeking: enhancements to Spectra fiber s properties combined with a unique 12 x 12 braided construction. We get one entire dimensional leap in strength, said Altus. The 12 x 12 braided construction is 50 percent stronger than designs previously used. Plasma rope, for the first time, is on a one-to-one ratio of strength with wire rope. Foss is increasingly using Plasma ropes on its entire fleet as either a main towline or a working line. The Plasma rope lines have provided greater longevity, especially over time as crews become more educated and better trained on rope inspection and care, according to Altus. The essential process requires training your crew to think of rope as a finely engineered product, Altus said. Rope used to be thought of as a crude commodity, so you used a lot of it. Now, we ve had a greater track record and we re increasing the wear and life of the lines. The company s workers compensation costs and back injuries are down, he says. And, in comparison to wire rope, Foss reports a three-to-one savings by using Plasma ropes.
Adstream Marine Company Saves Money, Increases Safety Queensland Tug and Salvage, an Adstream Marine company, switched to Plasma ropes to fulfill safety mandates when the industry went to a three-man crew. Based on its successes, Queensland now uses the ropes on all 23 tugs in its fleet and has been truly satisfied with the results, said Geoff Grosskreutz, technical manager. Like many other operators, Queensland uses Plasma ropes in a grommet configuration -- a long circular loop of line with a Plasma rope tail, connected to the main double-braided polyester line that goes through the boat s fairlead. This configuration helps to prevent chafing of the rope and the Plasma rope handling tails provide easier hookup and handling. Queensland is getting as many as 1,500 jobs out of a grommet and up to 5,000 jobs out of the main line configuration -- compared to previously only getting 500 jobs using the whole line, Grosskreutz said. It s a excellent product and has a good service life, he added. We re extending the product life while increasing safety and reliability. Puget Sound s rope is indeed costeffective. Jeyco Pacific Finds Towing Solutions Jeyco Pacific, a marine rigging supplier, helps customers add value to their businesses and reduce costs. Offering Plasma ropes as a towing solution has enabled it to fulfill that mission. After using polyester and other high-strength hybrid materials, it discovered Puget Sound s Plasma ropes in 1996. It initially took some trial-and-error to get the right sizing for its grommet configuration. But Jeyco now reports 100 percent success with all its customers and has helped make Plasma ropes an integral part of almost every fleet in Australia. Plasma ropes have helped improve labor relations in the country between the unionized workers and management, Taylor said.
Tug operators and crews love this product because it s easier to handle and they can do their jobs quicker and safer, he said. It gives them more confidence. Because management and workers agree so whole heartedly, there are better relations than in the past. Puget Sound Rope Innovates Technology The Puget Sound Rope Corp., part of the Cortland Companies, specializes in manufacturing high-performance braided rope for the most demanding applications, from emergency towlines to vessel assists. Puget Sound began a research program in the early 1990s to determine how to best manufacture ropes using Spectra fiber. As a result of this research, it developed a new generation of machinery specifically designed to utilize the full potential of Spectra fiber. Company founders Dick Ryan and Tim Sullivan developed the exclusive Plasma rope "recrystallization process" that was patented in 1994.This process improves the rope s translational efficiency giving it higher strength, lower stretch and better abrasion resistance. We wanted to build a better mousetrap, said Randy Longerich, Puget Sound s president. We wanted to build a rope that was significantly stronger than that of our competitors. The Plasma process combined with the patented 12 x 12 construction is especially effective in medium- to large-diameter ropes, where strengths are more than 50 percent higher and creep is significantly less than that of a standard Spectra fiber 12-strand rope. The braided hawser is composed of 12 strands of Plasma 12- strand rope. It comes standard with a polyurethane finish and is easily spliced for repairs. Spectra Fiber: The Backbone Spectra fiber provided Puget Sound with the high-strength-to-low-weight ratio needed to produce ropes that match wire on a strength-per-size basis. The properties of Spectra fiber allowed us to do what we do with our Plasma rope process, said Sam Bull, vice president of the Cortland Companies. Essentially we take Spectra 900 fiber, process it through our Plasma line and depending on the final rope size and construction we see strength increases of up to 80 percent compared to a similar rope.
Spectra fiber is an extended chain polyethylene fiber offering the highest strength-to-weight ratio for a manmade fiber. Its high tenacity makes it pound-forpound 10 times stronger than steel, more durable than polyester, and gives it a specific strength that is 40 percent greater than aramid fibers. Spectra Technologies, a Honeywell business, manufactures Spectra fiber and develops performance-enriched, fiber-based technologies for applications where materials are mission-critical and where success frequently means expanding the accepted limits of performance. Plasma Rope: On Land or by Sea Plasma ropes repairability also lends itself well to offshore oil exploration in deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa and Brazil. Puget Sound is working with two European companies to develop a 17-inch-circumference rope for this industry. We have a good opportunity to capture a substantial portion of the offshore market, said Bull. A strong believer in the benefits of Plasma rope, Jeyco is experimenting with it for use on shrimp boats and for off-road racing as a replacement to wire on fourwheel-drive winches. It s an amazing fiber that Honeywell developed, summed up Taylor of Jeyco. With its tensile strength and energy-to-break, it has many more applications.