TTS books its largest ever Syncrolift order

TTS Syncrolift

JUNE 22, 2017 — Norwegian headquartered TTS Group has booked a new contract for a 9,000 tonne Syncrolift (ship lift) and a transfer system for Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works Limited (KSEW) in Pakistan. The total order value is about NOK 250 million (about $30 million) and is the largest Syncrolift order ever signed by TTS.

Equipment deliveries for KSEW will take place in first half of 2019. Design and development will be carried out in Norway, while manufacturing will be performed in Europe and China.

“We see a high interest for our products all over the world. Within a few years, our company has delivered Syncrolifts to countries as varied as South Korea, Morocco, Kuwait, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Brazil and Peru. In addition, we see good opportunities in front of us,” says Rolf-Atle Tomassen, General Manager of TTS Syncrolift.

Tomassen says that TTS Syncrolift’s strategy is to follow the customer’s strategy, i.e. to minimize docking time, or rather maximize sailing time for ships.

The Syncrolift is essentially a large elevator for lifting ships from sea level to land level. The ship is then moved off the elevator and into a dedicated workstation, by using advanced hydraulic transfer trollies.
A Syncrolift system, unlike traditional drydocking using graving or floating drydocks, can easily handle 10 ships for repair on dry land. A drydock typically handles one ship at a time.

TTS says that weight is in not really a limitation for is Syncrolift technology. In a recent project, TTS handled weights up to 25,000 tonnes.

“This gives our customers a volume and efficiency advantage compared to other shipyards using dry docks,” Mr. Tomassen says.” In a period where the shipyards are consolidating and looking for cost effectiveness through volume, our technology complements this strategy. Our own estimate is that ship lifts are the preferred investment choice in more than 60% of all new investments made in docking/launching facilities.”