New offshore winch

A new offshore winch, designed to give fiber rope longer life, will revolutionize deepwater lifting, according to its Norwegian manufacturer.

Cable handling company Odim ASA has won a contract to deliver a 125 tonne lifting capacity version of its Odim CTCU (cable traction control unit) winch system to Aker Oilfied Services.

The deal forms part of a joint industry project supported by the Norway Research Council's Demo 2000 project that will allow the fabrication and field testing of the system with a two fall configuration.

It is due for delivery in 2009 and will allow the installation of subsea structures weighing up to 250 tonnes. “This is an important breakthrough for our deepwater technology Odim CTCU, and our commitment to the very promising deepwater market,” said Jogeir Romestrand, CEO at Odim ASA.

According to Odim, the winch protects fiber rope, which is one tenth the weight of steel wire cable, from rapid wear and tear. It incorporates active heave compensation which compensates for the motion of the vessel with more than 95% accuracy.

Odim indicated the contract value was around $10 million.