Synthetic Mooring – A Better Choice for Most Applications

Malcolm Nicholson has been involved in the marine industry for over twenty years.

Malcolm represents Sealite at an International level and is presently the Chairman of Working Group 1 (light and vision) in the Engineering Committee (ENG) of the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA). Malcolm is also an Industrial Committee Representative to the IALA Policy Advisory Panel and a registered IALA World Wide Academy Expert.

As Product Manager – Marine, he manages and develops the extensive range of Sealite Marine Aids to Navigation products.

Traditional Chain vs Synthetic Mooring

Historically, traditional chain has been the go-to option for customers to secure their marine Aids to Navigation products. Over time, two major problems can develop: the longevity of chain in high salinity environments, and the ecological damage chain can cause to the sea bed. This drove Sealite to look to an alternative mooring solution for our customers.

The effect of wear on all kinds of metals submerged in salt water directly impacts marine ecosystems. Corrosion causes heavy metals to enter the water, and the process happens much more quickly in regions with very high salinity. This reduces the life span of the chain, making it a poor choice from both an economic and environmental perspective.

Corporations with a sense of responsibility are striving to make better business choices. Substituting chain with synthetic mooring is the only sustainable solution. It offers customers an extensive list of benefits including:

• A much longer lifespan than chain.
• Minimal impact on ecosystems because of its buoyancy and it is manufactured from environmentally friendly materials.
• It is made from a high strength nylon core, protected by an abrasion resistant rubber coating.
• The use of stainless steel or galvanised thimble eyelets embedded into the quality rubber casing offering excellent, long-term durability.
• Significantly less in weight than chain and offers a much smaller footprint. This reduces OH&S risk when lifting, reduces trip hazards and transports more efficiently.
• Synthetic mooring is more cost effective to deploy with smaller vessel requirements, less demand on lifting equipment, is easier to handle and therefore, speeds up installation.
• UV stabilised, it is easy to maintain using high pressure cleaning.
• It can be used in combination with chain to secure buoys of any size.

Sealite offers advice on mooring solutions in line with IALA recommendations. Over fifty different types and sizes of synthetic mooring are available. They are perfect for use in rivers, lakes, estuaries, harbours, bays and oceans. Mooring lines range from 300mm to any length with break strengths from 4 tonne to 100 tonnes.

Further information can be found under synthetic mooring on our website or by contacting your Sealite representative.