Recycled material in Lankhorst heavy lift slings for Heerema

Subsea excavator rigging frame onboard offhore heavy lift vessel Thialf, showing LankoForce HL slings made with Dyneema fibre produced from recycled material

For the first time in the heavy lift industry, Lankhorst Ropes is supplying Heerema Marine Contractors with LankoForce HL slings manufactured with Dyneema SK78 fibre produced using post-consumer plastic waste as a feedstock.

Meike Kolthof, Heerema general manager of sustainability, said, “As part of Heerema’s circular ambitions we are happy to be supplied with Lankhorst’s recycled slings as an industry first. Introducing sustainable slings aligns with our internal goal to eliminate waste and is evidence of our commitment to sustainability across all aspects of our business.”

DSM is producing Dyneema using ethylene from mixed plastic waste as a pilot project. This fibre from recycled material used for the LankoForce HL slings in this specific offshore lifting project has the same assured performance as conventional and bio-based Dyneema SK78 fibre.

Synthetic fibre slings have proven to provide many benefits over steel wire slings. As strong as steel wire yet significantly lighter and easier to handle, the slings are a safer, more sustainable, and more efficient way of handling payloads in offshore lifting projects.

“We already use bio-based Dyneema SK78 for the manufacturing of our 12-strand braided LankoForce HL slings. By introducing post-consumer plastic waste as a feedstock, the industry is going a step further towards preventing valuable plastic from becoming waste and reducing carbon emissions from waste disposal,” said Marcel van der Molen, Lankhorst Ropes sales director domestic, heavy lift and EPCI.