Vane adds new tug for coastal and river towage

This is a 27.4-m Sassafras-class tug with 2,240 kW of power from twin Caterpillar 3512 main engines, which drive fixed-pitch propellers through Twin Disc MG 6500, 6:1 reverse reduction gears.

With a shallow draught for towing barges along inland waterways in the US, its JonRie Intertech-manufactured tow winch enables pushing and towing of barges along river systems. Cape Henry has a Series 500 tow-liner towing winch with an independent drive level wind.

JonRie said it has a direct-drive Hagglunds motor for a compact rugged design. “With its low moment of inertia, it can take the punishment of open-ocean towing,” said JonRie.

The winch has a line pull of 45 tonnes and capacity to spool 610 m of 4.5-cm diameter cable. It is controlled from the tow coop on the boat deck and features pilot house alarms. The drive in the engineroom is powered by a 94-kW diesel engine and features a 23-kW back-up system.

All controls were designed and supplied by JonRie. Tow master controls in the wheelhouse were designed in conjunction with Vane port captain Jim Demske.

These controls have joystick speed control for the winch drum and joystick control for the level wind, so the carriage moves and is independent from the drum for even spools. The aft deck has a JonRie Series 421 hydraulic capstan.

Tug newbuildings, stability and safety will be discussed during Riviera’s first ITS TUGTECHNOLOGY Webinar Week on 29-31 March – use this link for more details and to register for these webinars