Mooring rope and wire rope suppliers for ships: what the line plan asks for

The chief officer and bosun raise rope requisitions in practice. The guidance names the roles around them: the person in charge of the mooring station inspects lines and tells the master when deterioration is excessive, and the master has authority to stop a line being used. INTERTANKO’s line management guidance says mooring ropes should be retired when residual strength reaches 75% of the ship design MBL — which is where the next order starts.^[4]

The rule behind it is SOLAS regulation II-1/3-8 and the IMO guidance on towing and mooring equipment. The revised guidance applies to ships built on or after 1 January 2024; the earlier circular still covers ships built from 2007. Each ship’s towing and mooring arrangements plan records the ship design minimum breaking load (MBLSD) and length of every mooring line, and any restrictions on type, stiffness or diameter.^[1]

IMO’s inspection and maintenance guidelines say a replacement line should meet the designed specification. Where that is not possible, its breaking strength and other listed properties are considered and the plan is updated — work a ship would rather avoid, so it asks for a like-for-like line.^[2]

The cost of getting it wrong is documented. A Bahamas Maritime Authority safety alert on HMPE mooring lines that parted in high wind found the mooring equipment selected at build was not fully in line with industry guidance.^[5]

Synthetic mooring rope is the largest group in IMPA section 21, ahead of steel wire rope in its standard constructions, non-rotating wire rope, miscellaneous synthetic rope — heaving lines, cordage, twine — and stainless wire rope. Cable grips, eight-strand wire rope and mooring links and shackles complete the section.

A mooring rope line names the material and construction — nylon eight-strand, polypropylene, polyester, HMPE — with diameter, length per coil and, more and more often, the MBL the ship needs. A wire rope line names construction, core, finish and diameter, quoted per metre or per coil.

Put the MBL or LDBF on the quote next to the diameter, say whether the certificate is per coil or per batch, and give the coil length — a 220 m line against a 200 m request changes the price comparison. For wire, name construction and core exactly as the line does.

Rope lines travel with shackles, thimbles and wire clips from rigging and deck equipment. On GeoMarineHub, choose section 21 among your categories and activate your ports; lines from the section posted there reach you, sealed from rivals. Register as a supplier — free.