As offshore operations extend deeper and run for longer periods, lifting systems increasingly shape how work is carried out on deck. What was once an occasional operation becomes a routine condition, and the characteristics of the lifting system begin to influence where people stand, how tasks are sequenced and how much of the deck remains accessible during operations. Against this backdrop, a new class of synthetic rope systems, such as TechIce with Technora fibres, has begun to change how operators plan and execute lifting offshore.
For Stabbert Maritime, a Seattle-based operator of offshore support vessels, this shift became clear during the refit of its multipurpose vessel Ocean Guardian. The vessel was configured for continuous deepwater operations to depths of 6,000 metres, supporting subsea, survey and scientific work, with lifting systems expected to operate almost daily rather than intermittently.
Steel wire rope, long treated as the industry standard, began to dictate operational boundaries. Its behaviour under load constrained crew positioning and deck access, with permanent exclusion zones forcing routine tasks to be organised around separation from the line. With lifts now occurring more frequently, the rope itself began to influence how offshore work was carried out, not just how lifting was controlled.
The challenge
Three steel-related conditions defined how crews could work safely during continuous offshore operations.
Challenge 1: Snap-back limiting deck use
“Snap-back is treated as an assumed condition,” explains Daniel Stabbert, CTO of Stabbert Maritime. “Crews are trained to plan around it, work around it and keep clear of the line whenever it is under load. When you are operating in water depths beyond 4,000 metres, there’s no margin for improvisation around the line.” As a result, deck layout and task sequencing are driven by required separation from the line rather than by operational workflow.
Challenge 2: Lubrication affecting deck conditions
Steel wire requires lubrication to manage wear under load. During lifting operations, lubricant migrates from the rope onto drums, sheaves and surrounding deck surfaces, necessitating ongoing cleaning and containment measures. As lift cycles accumulate, deck conditions require increased housekeeping attention.
Challenge 3: Line mass limiting handling proximity
At deepwater lengths, steel wire carries substantial self-weight. During spooling, empty-hook recovery and load transitions, this mass increases the energy present in the system and the consequences of uncontrolled movement. As a result, routine handling requires greater separation from the line and limits the extent of manual interaction in its vicinity.
In response to these challenges, Stabbert Maritime began looking for an alternative. Incremental adjustments to steel-based systems were assessed but ultimately discounted, as scaling capacity for continuous deepwater operations would have required larger winches, increased deck footprint and tighter operating margins, while introducing the risk of schedule loss and commissioning delays during the transition. As Daniel Stabbert explains, “We weren’t trying to chase headline performance. We needed a system that behaved predictably every day instead of one that people had to keep compensating for.”
The alternative was TechIce, a hybrid synthetic hoisting rope manufactured by Hampidjan, incorporating Technora aramid fibres from Teijin Aramid. It supports continuous deepwater duty by delivering predictable fatigue behaviour, thermal stability under cyclic bending and handling characteristics that reduce crew exposure during routine operations.
The solution
The replacement lifting system was selected using a deliberately cautious acceptance approach, shaped by the safety and operational consequences of failure. Rather than relying on tighter procedures or theoretical performance gains, Stabbert Maritime evaluated alternatives based on how they behaved during routine deepwater operations under representative conditions.
System architecture
To address this operational challenge, Stabbert Maritime turned to Parkburn, an engineering firm specialising in deepwater lifting systems designed for continuous duty.
Parkburn designed the deepwater capstan winch that formed the mechanical core of the system. The architecture separates traction from storage and delivers the required lift capability within the vessel’s existing power envelope and deck footprint, without requiring changes to foundations or auxiliary systems.
The fully electric winch is configured for continuous operation with synthetic rope. By limiting stored energy in the system and avoiding assumptions associated with steel wire stiffness and mass, the winch reduces the extent to which lifting activity influences deck access during operations.
Sam Bull, Business Consultant at Parkburn, explains that the design approach reflects a different set of priorities than traditional steel-based systems. “Designing for continuous duty places emphasis on consistent behaviour over time, rather than on peak performance in isolated lifts,” he states.
He adds that rope performance cannot be understood in isolation: “Fibre and rope companies spend most of their time proving their products outperform competitors in isolation, rather than understanding how they behave within the actual deployment and recovery system. Real performance is governed by the entire operating environment: winch type, sheave geometry, spoolers, fleeting angles, bearing surfaces, system dynamics such as speed and active heave compensation, and ultimately the unknown conditions delivered by mother nature.”
This systems-based perspective set the context for independent testing later conducted by NORCE Research.
Independent verification
To better understand rope behaviour under system-level conditions relevant to deepwater lifting, Hampidjan commissioned independent cyclic bend-over-sheave testing through NORCE Research. The testing was conducted at the Mechatronics Innovation Lab using repeated cyclic bending at a defined speed and elevated ambient temperature, without external cooling, to represent sustained operational loading.
Ellen Nordgård-Hansen, Senior Researcher at NORCE Research, explains why this focus was necessary: “Cyclic bending and heat are the primary drivers of hoisting rope degradation in practice. That is why the analysis concentrated on strain development, thermal response and fatigue progression during prolonged cycling.”
The purpose of the work was not qualification or limit-setting, but comparison. By testing bending over sheave under controlled, repeatable conditions, different rope solutions and design concepts could be evaluated side by side, supporting development through improved understanding of the degradation mechanisms that govern performance in service. Considering multiple response parameters, rather than relying on a single performance metric, allowed behaviour to be assessed in a more system-relevant way. With those expectations established, the system moved from test conditions into daily use onboard Ocean Guardian.
The outcome
For the crew, the difference was immediately noticeable. Spooling and empty-hook recovery settled into routine practice, and line behaviour remained consistent as loads changed. During extended periods of active heave compensation, the rope did not generate the heat or deck contamination typically associated with prolonged lifting using steel wire.
That consistency influenced how work was organised on deck. With no lubricant transferring onto deck surfaces and lower line mass to manage, the lifting area did not require repeated clearance during operations. Tasks that would normally be delayed or re-sequenced during hoisting were carried out in parallel, reducing disruption during active operations. Daniel Stabbert recalls the shift: “What stood out was how little attention the system needed once it was running. We weren’t constantly adjusting how we worked around it.”
With repeated use, the lifting system stopped driving secondary decisions during planning. It could be deployed without changes to deck layout or work sequencing, allowing crews to focus on the operation itself rather than on managing the system around it.
When the system stops dictating the work
The experience on Ocean Guardian shows that deepwater capability does not inherently require lifting systems to dominate offshore operations. When systems are assembled, evaluated and accepted based on their behaviour during routine use, lifting activity can be integrated without continually reshaping how work is carried out on deck.
As offshore operations extend in duration and involve more frequent deepwater lifting, this distinction becomes increasingly relevant. Systems that impose continual adjustments on surrounding work introduce operational limits over time. For operators planning extended deepwater campaigns, system behaviour under everyday operating conditions may be as important as peak specifications in determining operational flexibility.
Independent fatigue and thermal performance data from cyclic bend-over-sheave testing — the evidence base behind this operational transition — is available at techice.teijinaramid.com
