MOORING THE WORLD’S LARGEST CRUISE SHIPS IS SAFE AND SIMPLE WITH ROPES MADE WITH DYNEEMA®

The Netherlands, May 23, 2012 - When the world’s two largest cruise liners currently afloat make their brief stops at ports around the Caribbean, mooring ropes made from the world’s strongest fiber hold them firmly in place. Outstanding strength coupled with low weight and great ease of handling are the key reasons why Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL) chose ropes with Dyneema® for the Oasis of the Seas and the recently launched Allure of the Seas.

The two identical ships are both 360 meters long, have a beam of 47 meters, contain 16 passenger decks and are capable of carrying around 8000 people, including the crew. Built at the Turku, Finland shipyards by leading shipbuilding group STX Europe, they both have a gross tonnage of 222,900 tonnes. They are some 40% larger than the next biggest cruise ship currently afloat.

“The key advantage is the overall durability of the ropes,” says Clayton Van Welter who is Chief Officer on the Oasis of the Seas. ”They have lasted a whole year with little to no wear.” Chris van Raalten, Ship Manager for RCCL’s “Oasis” class ships, concurs. “The lines are holding up great to the wear and tear,” he says. “We have yet to replace any of them.”

Word from the bridge is that the captain of the Oasis of the Seas is more than happy with the new ropes too. For one thing, the time taken to moor is short because two ropes can be sent ashore at the same time to secure the ship. Engines can be turned off sooner, with important fuel savings accruing as a result.

Normal ropes in polypropylene and polyester would have been too bulky for easy handling. “The winches would have been huge, and RCCL wanted smaller winches so they could maximize the space available for their passengers,” says Jan Willem Visser, Marketing Manager Commercial Shipping at Gleistein Ropes; the manufacturer of the ropes and one of the world’s leading innovative manufacturers of high-quality rope, headquartered in Bremen, Germany. Steel ropes would have a similar diameter to ropes with Dyneema®, but they would be much more difficult to handle. In addition to accelerated job completion, ropes made with Dyneema® also make a significant contribution to the safety of personnel by reducing back strain as well as wounds from steel wire “fishhooks” or backlash danger from standard polypropylene or polyester ropes.

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