Dive Brief:

• A synthetic rope concocted with two years of research and experimentation uses a polyester core surrounded by Dyneema polyethylene strands, six twisting in each direction.
• The company responsible— Samson Rope in Ferndale, Washington— worked with Manitowoc Inc., which wanted hoisting cable that will not rotate under load.
• With the new rope, a 22-mm synthetic cable substitutes for a 19-mm steel cable to achieve the same strength, but the synthetic is 80% lighter for a given length. This effectively allows more of the weight being hoisted to be in the object instead of being in the cable itself.  

Dive Insight:

The synthetic rope currently costs twice as much as the steel rope equivalent, but Samson hopes that more companies will adopted them, so more can be made. The synthetic borrowed from cables made for the commercial fishing industry, tugboats and towing, and recreational boating. Another advantage is that it does not require lubrication.