ROPE WIRE GALV 6XWS(36)IWRC, 30MM DIAX200MTR W/CERT. 213158

The code does not fix the tensile grade or the lay. One maker’s EN 12385-4 data sheet for 6x36WS rope with a steel core lists 30 mm with a minimum breaking force of 567 kN in grade 1,770, 628 kN in grade 1,960 and 692 kN in grade 2,160, at about 368 kg per 100 m. It offers the rope bright or galvanised. State the grade, lay direction and minimum breaking force the equipment maker requires.^[1]

Plan the delivery: at about 368 kg per 100 m, 200 m of 30 mm rope is about 736 kg before the reel. Say whether the ship can lift that, or whether the rope must arrive on a reel that fits the ship’s reeling gear.^[1]

"W/CERT." should mean a rope certificate that the ship can file in its lifting gear register. The ILO model certificate for wire rope (Form No. 4) records the maker or supplier, nominal diameter, number of strands, wires per strand, core, lay and quality of wire in N/mm². It also records the date of the sample test, the load at which the sample broke, the safe working load, the intended use, and who witnessed the test. Ask for a certificate that shows these.^[2]

Under the ILO model register, wire rope is tested by sample, a piece being tested to destruction. The safe working load is the sample’s breaking load divided by a utilisation coefficient. The register and certificates for gear on board are kept for at least five years after the last entry.^[2]

Under the UK lifting regulations, lifting equipment is not used after manufacture or installation without first being suitably tested by a competent person, and after each test it is thoroughly examined and certified for use. A new rope rove on a crane therefore needs its own entry in the records as well as the maker’s certificate.^[3]