DROMEC Winches develops Active Heave Compensation on winch systems

“Active Heave Compensation is a technology where the ship’s wave motion is compensated for. In short, that’s Active Heave Compensation. The winches on the ship work in precisely the opposite way, so that the load at the bottom of the hook remains stationary,”
says Cees Drost, CEO of DROMEC.

Offshore Technology

Reducing the effect of wave-induced heave motion on drilling and production operations is particularly important in the offshore and oil and gas industry. This technology is widely used here. Additionally, winch systems combined with Active Heave Compensation are being developed for offshore operations. At DROMEC Winches, engineers are working on winch systems that can compensate for wave motion, ensuring safety and reliability in these complex situations.

Quadruple System

For properly functioning Active Heave Compensation, you need a quadruple system. An MRU, Motion Reference Unit, which is a compass, altimeter, and inclinometer combined into one device. This system tracks the ship’s motion relative to the fixed world, the earth. Additionally, DROMEC Winches develops software capable of converting MRU data into actions in winch control. The third relevant component is the control system that can respond to the software’s input value in milliseconds. And finally, we use a winch that can respond not only to the speed of motion but especially to the acceleration of a wave. In short, it’s a demonstration of stable engineering!

Customer-Specific

DROMEC Winches collaborates with the customer to determine which MRU they would like to use. Often, there is already an MRU on board, and DROMEC can provide the necessary components to create a fully functioning Active Heave Compensation system with one or a combination of multiple winches.

Cees Drost:
“With this application, the customer has many more possibilities. This makes the system special. For example, if you want to hang an object still above the seabed while the ship is in waves. With Active Heave Compensation, you can work as if you are on still water. The object will thus remain stationary in the water. This system is also frequently used in transfer systems at sea. Operators can safely transfer from a swaying ship to a stationary platform. With AHC, the customer works safer, more precisely, and more efficiently because operators can continue working even in rough seas.

P.S. Happy King’s Day, and secretly I am proud of our stable Oranges!!”