ShoreConnection, a Norwegian company which specialises in customized monitoring solutions, improving safety and logistics for merchant vessels and offshore installations, has appointed expert in marine personnel transfer Reflex Marine as global distributor of its deck motion monitor (DMM) system.
Support vessels are an ever-increasing cost centre for all offshore operations. A major contribution to these costs is the ability to load cargo and crew safely and efficiently offshore. Current methods used to establish crane operational limits can be too conservative or too optimistic. Using real-time measurement of actual vessel movements can reduce vessel waiting times by 50% resulting in significant financial savings. In 2007, ShoreConnection developed the DMM in partnership with ConocoPhillips and DNV Norway. The DMM measures the vertical deck velocity at multiple locations on the supply vessel deck and provides real-time wave height information to the crane operator. Real-time video from the supply vessel’s DMM camera gives the crane operator another angle view and can cover blind zones on deck. This allows the crane operator to define the safest lifting and landing area on the vessel. Johnny Rabben, General Manager of ShoreConnection, said:
"This new partnership with Reflex Marine strengthens the market for us in global crane and lifting. It will enable the best offshore operators to find out the benefits of adopting new and safer methods of moving cargo and people." Reflex Marine’s new Business Development Manager Carol Richards said:
"When we first saw ShoreConnection’s Deck Motion Monitor during the 2011 crane conference in Norway, we recognised that this was a game-changer for the industry. Sharing a likeminded philosophy towards offshore lifting operations, ShoreConnection is designing intelligent products to radically reduce risks and downtime during the transfer of personnel or cargo by crane." "Collaborating with ShoreConnection has presented an exciting opportunity to further assist our clients looking to introduce new technology to make their operations safer and more efficient."