ABERDEEN-BASED Nautilus Rigging is showing a new lifting hook which it says has largely consigned pinch and trap injuries to history.
The Nautilus Hooks range has been officially launched at Offshore Europe.
Managing director and designer Bill Toon said: “The idea came to me six years ago when I was working offshore as a ship’s captain.
“One night, one of my deck crew got his hand caught between the sling and the hook and ended up losing the end of his finger. That got me thinking that there had to be a better solution.”
Mr Toon refined his idea until he was satisfied he had addressed all the safety issues posed by traditional “latch-lock” hooks, producing an alternative he says not only greatly reduces the risk of injury but is also significantly more comfortable and easier to operate. Earlier this year, the prototype hooks underwent field trials in the North Sea. Key findings included that 89% of users found the Nautilus Hooks sliding lock mechanism easy to operate.
Mr Toon said: “From all the great feedback we’ve had so far, we know we have a winning design. We are launching the Nautilus Hooks range at Offshore Europe because our initial market is the oil and gas sector first where safety is of paramount importance, but this design has universal application.
“There are around 5million lifting hooks in use in the UK alone, and probably more than 50million worldwide, so our ultimate global market is enormous.”