Deeper offshore handling drives winch developments

摘要

The handling requirements for oceanographic and oil and gas projects are very different. For oceanographic projects, great depths are involved, up to 10,000 metres, but the payload is small - often less than a tonne. In contrast, oil and gas project depths are a lot less, typically 1500 metres, but the payloads much higher (up to 1000 tonnes). Project factors influencing winch selection include water depth, load and the means of deploying the object subsea - steel wire, synthetic rope and umbilicals, for example. Winch systems used for simple lifting operations, based on a single drum, are unsuitable for these more demanding applications. The high line loads and the risk of abrasion damage as the cable works on multiple layers of the cable stored on the winch, point to a more resilient alternative - the traction winch.