Revised IMO guidelines for winches and lifting equipment

Mandatory guidance and functional requirements covering deck machinery and lifesaving equipment are coming from IMO. The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) approved revised generic guidelines for developing standards for lifting appliances and winches during its latest session, in June, in London.

It approved a revision* to generic guidelines and mandatory requirements that were set by the Sub-Committee on Ship Systems and Equipment (SSE), which met in March. These guidelines will be used to develop draft goals and functional requirements for onboard lifting appliances and anchor-handling winches.

SSE agreed in principle to draft mandatory regulations for deck machinery which covers requirements for applying, designing and constructing, operating, inspecting, testing and maintaining onboard lifting equipment and anchor handling winches.

These rules are intended to prevent accidents and harm to equipment operators and damage to vessels, subsea structures and the marine environment.

In March, SSE set up a correspondence group to finalise draft guidelines related to safely operating deck machinery. At the same time, the sub-committee developed functional requirements and expected performance criteria for lifesaving appliances and arrangements. The goal is to save human life during and after emergencies. These were approved by MSC in June.

Also in June, Damen Anchor & Chain Factory signed a partnership agreement with Fendercare to build up a complementary stock of anchors, chains and chain fittings and installing anchors and chains. This increases deck equipment availability in more ports worldwide. This agreement will grow both companies’ product portfolios, widen their geographic coverage and shorten lead times for spares.

In April 2019, Damen Marine Components (DMC) acquired Dutch hydraulics manufacturer WK Hydraulics to boost its series of winches, cranes and bow thrusters. There was already an overlap in steering gear and hydraulic power units, but WK Hydraulics had experience in building customised hydraulics that DMC had not.

The acquisition brought WK Hydraulics’ product portfolio of towing pins, wire and chain stoppers into the DMC product range, which already included rudder, steering gear, winch and nozzle systems.

WK Hydraulics products will be sold by DMC or under the Van der Velden Marine Systems brand, said WK Hydraulics managing director Peter Kok. DMC managing director Steef Staal said it filled a gap with the purchase to “enhance our capabilities in hydraulics and hydraulic-driven deck gear”.

Logan Industries has unveiled a new passive heave compensation winch system for light subsea installation work. These can be used by multipurpose workboats to deploy remotely operated vehicles or install pipeline terminals.

These winches are less complex than active compensation systems and are electrically powered. They use a custom-built hydraulic power unit and control set to monitor winch status and activity.

The winch provides passive compensation over a wide range of movement from a small footprint. It has two independent winch drums per winch skid and can be controlled from a local operator console. Each skid has an energy regeneration circuit to provide continuous heave compensation.

Logan designed these products for 20 years of life, for autonomous winch operations with only periodic pressure monitoring and maintenance required.

*IMO goal-based standard (MSC.1/ Circ.1394/Rev.2)