Dyneema® fiber takes offshore operations to new depths

What’s as strong as steel, but light enough to float on water? Ropes made with Dyneema®. And by enabling neutral rope weight in water, Dyneema® fiber means the winch or crane maintains its full capacity throughout the water column. That makes Dyneema®-based ropes the perfect solution to a major challenge facing offshore lifting operations: how to work safely, efficiently, and reliably in shallow, deep, and ultra-deep waters.

Dyneema® enables STRENGTHplus+

Winchlines and crane ropes made with Dyneema® are uniquely strong – but there’s much more to it than that. Dyneema® fiber is carefully engineered to overcome the weaknesses of steel wire rope.

7X LIGHTER AT EQUAL STRENGTH
NO DAMAGE TO PAYLOADS
INCREASED CAPACITY AT DEPTH
REPAIRABLE
Diamond Background

Reliably safer lifting at all depths

When you’re out at sea, you need lifting equipment you can rely on. Around the world, hundreds of kilometers of crane ropes and winchlines made with Dyneema® fiber are already being counted on to make operations safer for people and payloads.

We’ve got over a decade of dedicated testing behind us, ensuring that winchlines and ropes made with Dyneema® – the world’s strongest fiber™ – deliver a reliable, high-level performance over a service lifetime much longer than that of either steel or synthetic alternatives.

For greater peace of mind

  • Proven over many years and projects

  • Extensive testing

  • Reduced chance of failure

  • Predictable longevity

  • Performance-driven retirement criteria

  • Fewer injuries

Go deeper than ever with greater efficiency

Gone are the days of steel crane ropes. The weight of winchlines made from steel wire halves a crane’s capacity at a depth of 3,000 meters – limiting deep-water operations in a way that’s unacceptable for today’s ambitious offshore industry. The time has come to embrace efficiency, thanks to synthetic solutions made from our ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) Dyneema® fiber.

Lighter ropes maintain crane capacity at depth, which allows smaller vessels to do the same job. Meanwhile, Dyneema®-based winchlines enable easier, safer, and faster handling, even manually. What’s more, their longer service life enables fewer rope changes, higher cost efficiency, and better crane availability.

For a more productive solution

  • Efficiency to go ultra-deep with smaller equipment

  • Increased crane and vessel capabilities

  • Long service life

  • Less maintenance and replacement

  • Better OpEx

Better bending endurance

Think steel ropes outperform synthetics when it comes to cyclic bending? Think again. Tests show that Dyneema® fiber enables a higher bending performance in winch ropes than conventional steel wire.

In fact, since we’ve introduced new fiber technologies like Dyneema® XBO Technology, and as rope construction has advanced, the cyclic bend over sheave (CBOS) performance of crane ropes made with Dyneema® fiber has increased by a factor of more than 10. Plus, we’ve carefully established the best way to spool synthetic ropes on multi-layer winches – an essential lever for successful deep-water operations.

For ultimate winchline performance

  • Improved cyclic bending

  • Better winch spooling

  • Unparalleled strength-to-weight ratio

  • DNV-accredited temperature management system

Supporting a more sustainable industry

It’s pretty simple: in a world that’s woken up to the sustainability challenge, Dyneema® delivers the lowest carbon footprint per unit strength of all high-performance fibers. Opting for more sustainable lifting solutions made with Dyneema® fiber can fast add up to a lower footprint for your offshore operations.

How? Upstream, 100% of the energy used to make our fibers comes from renewable sources. Downstream, lightweight Dyneema®-based crane ropes and winchlines enable the use of smaller cranes on smaller vessels, significantly reducing the footprint of a deep-water operation. Plus, their longer service life means greater resource efficiency.

But did you know you can also benefit from the same high performance as conventional Dyneema® with a carbon footprint 90% lower than generic HMPE? To make your lifting even greener, choose bio-based Dyneema® fiber: the world’s first-ever bio-based HMPE fiber.

For a big impact with a small footprint

  • Reliably longer service life enables less resource consumption

  • Low weight means less energy use

  • Bio-based Dyneema® fiber available

Want the same high performance with a lower carbon footprint?

Discover bio-based Dyneema® fiber

Putting performance to the test

Dyneema® has a track record of unparalleled strength in the offshore industry stretching back three decades – but the world’s strongest fiber™ offers so much more than just strength. For more than 10 years, we’ve been proving the all-round power of Dyneema® fiber in offshore applications, thanks to our suite of proprietary, state-of-the-art testing equipment.

Unlike other manufacturers, we rigorously test the minimum breaking strength not only of our fibers, but also of rope and sling constructions. But there’s more to it than that, because rope strength at the moment of purchase is only one datapoint: the most important factor is strength over time, since this directly affects the reliability of your lifting operation.

That’s why we at Dyneema® have put a lot of effort into understanding and improving the behavior of our fibers. As a result, Dyneema® SK78 fiber is precision engineered to stand up to fatigue, abrasion, creep, and temperature extremes.

Rope Tension Fatigue Model

Built on thousands of tests at the fiber, rope, and sling level, this tool is the only way to accurately predict performance.

Abrasion / Cut Test

Here we evaluate external abrasion under actual conditions – ideal for measuring the impact of sharp angles, sheaves, and metal surfaces when lifting.

Cyclic Bending over Sheave (CBOS) Test

Understanding the bending characteristics of a rope over a sheave is essential for developing a durable assembly.

Creep Performance Tool

Our modeling predicts creep rate and elongations as well as estimating creep lifetime.

Temperature Model

Accurately predicting rope core temperatures means Dyneema® SK78 fiber can be used safely at higher operating temperatures.

We’re so confident in the technology, and so keen to demonstrate the crane’s capabilities, that we entered a program to build, certify, and validate it. We believe it’s one of the most advanced fiber-rope knuckle-boom cranes the market has ever seen.

Ingvar Apeland, Vice President, Advanced Offshore Solutions, MacGregor

We strongly believe in the future of cranes with fiber rope included – not just because of CAPEX and OPEX evaluations, but also to further shift the limits of what can be deployed in subsea applications.

Cees van Veluw, Product Manager Cranes, Huisman

The technology used for the recovery is, in its own way, as otherworldly as the Apollo technology itself. The remotely operated vehicles worked at a depth of more than 14,000 feet, tethered to our ship with fiber optics for data and electric cables transmitting power at more than 4,000 volts.

Jeff Bezos, Founder, Bezos Expeditions


Preferred. Trusted. Certified.

Dyneema® fibers are renowned the world over for their outstanding quality, consistency, and performance – as recognized by our array of third-party certifications covering the full production process. Plus, our team of experts can support you in securing third-party certification for your winch or crane design with Dyneema®.

Is verification the same as certification?

The simple answer is “no.” Verification statements confirm the initial holding capacity of a rope or sling, but don’t give information on its suitability for the intended lifting operation. Certification, on the other hand, confirms not only the initial holding capacity but also its lifetime holding capacity – determining the useful service life in its planned operation.

In short, if you want fit-for-purpose, durable, and sustainable heavy lifting ropes, certificates are the documents for you.

Contact our sales team

Whether you’re working on a shallow-, deep-, or ultra-deep-water project, choosing the right crane ropes and winchlines can make a big difference to the efficiency and safety of your operations. Need some help? Our specialists are on hand to share their expertise and advice.

Contact us
  • Support in engineering, efficiency decisions and local challenges
  • Techniques and technologies that meet your specific requirements
  • Cost-reduction assessments and strategies
  • Solutions to reduce future maintenance and replacement costs
  • Certification support
  • Tailored approach to local challenges

Stronger together

Our premium crane rope and winchline partners are dedicated to manufacturing strong, safe, and reliable solutions with Dyneema® fiber – so you can plumb new depths of offshore success. Looking for extra peace of mind? Our partners are happy to offer the service and maintenance packages you need to keep your operations running smoothly and safely, day in, day out.

Where to buy

Offshore crane ropes and winchlines made with Dyneema® fiber are available from our trusted partners across the globe.

Find a provider

Design with Dyneema®

Want to take your system design to new heights? You need Dyneema®’s trusted support for offshore project designers. Our experts and technical centers are standing by around the globe, ready to help you tackle any offshore challenge.

Design with Dyneema®

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