Slowing the drift of disabled or abandoned ship at sea, protecting coastlines
Flown out by helicopter and secured to vessel via titanium lasso on to bollard of ship. Incorporated floating tow line eases vessel recovery by salvage tug.
We can customise the ShipArrestor para sea anchor in many ways to adapt to your needs and specifications. Please contact us to further discuss how we can put ShipArrestor technology to work for your organisation.
An abandoned vessel is one of many challenges to salvors. In many cases an emergency towing connection to a salvage tug is the only thing preventing a total loss of ship and cargo, as well as harm to the environment. For centuries the salvors had to board the abandoned vessel to establish the emergency salvage connection, a hazardous task putting lives at risk. A great number of vessels have suffered total loss after being abandoned. The associated cost to the shipping industry and its underwriters are substantial.
The Miko ShipArrestor is a unique system for gaining control of a drifting vessel and is brought to the casualty with the speed of a helicopter.
It consists of a lasso, a towline and a large para anchor. The deployment bag is an aerodynamic container for the towline, para anchor and pickup system and is suspended above the connector lasso. The lasso is deployed over the windlass of the casualty by helicopter. The sea anchor is then dropped into the water, turning the bow up against the wind, reducing drift speed by up to 50% and eliminating rolling motion. The ShipArrestor also provides an established towline for the first arriving tug. The pick-up system allows the tug crew to retrieve the ShipArrestor directly from the water and use it to tow the casualty to safety.
Independent of the crew aboard the casualty, the ShipArrestor can be used even if the ship is abandoned. Once the connection is made, and the sea anchor deployed, the system is fully autonomous. During the helicopter transport, the ShipArrestor is carried in two connected packages; a Connector and a Deployment Bag. The Connector consists of a lightweight chain carried inside a pressurized hose (the Lasso) and a second chain (the forerunner), which is attached to the outside of the hose. The lasso is lowered around the windlass or similar strong point on the deck of the vessel. The forerunner is designed to pass over the gunwale of the vessel without being damaged by chafing.
As a result, valuable time is created for the tug to arrive before the casualty hits the shore, while the wave-induced stresses on the structure are significantly reduced. When the tug arrives, the crew can use the pickup system to retrieve the line from the water and use the ShipArrestor to tow the casualty to safety.