New methods of in-port towing

 

The work of harbor tugboats is usually carried out in this order.

A port tug approaches the bow or stern of the towed vessel, takes or feeds its rope from it and attaches it to a hook located near the center of the tugboat's hull. Then he leads the ship forward, and leads with large deviations from the wake. He is not able to keep the ship from moving forward. This is usually done with the help of a second tugboat, which pulls the vessel by the stern in the opposite direction, or by the operation of towed vehicles.

At the same time, the tugboat is in different positions: in the wake at different degrees and perpendicular to the towed vessel, which does not protect the tugboat from danger and various accidents that may occur.

When bringing the vessel to the mooring line, while having a free course, the tugboat can allow bulk onto the berth or be squeezed away from it by the current and wind force. Overcoming these obstacles takes a lot of time. Technical structures, ships moored at the pier, as well as tugboats are damaged in some cases.

Even more attention and time must be spent on bringing and mooring to the berth when towing a non-self-propelled fleet.

Below are the best methods of in-port towing, in our opinion.

The first of them is the towing of a marine vessel with a lag. The vessel to be towed under way or parked at the pier has rope ends lowered overboard and reinforced. The towman approaches the rope with his nose from the side opposite to the berth and puts it on the bow stand with a sling, followed by fastening the rope tightly to the winch or bollard. After the rope is secured, the tugboat follows the vessel with a lag. At the same time, he can freely push the vessel forward and stop its movement, take it away from the berth and press it against it, working the machine forward or backward, can change any angle with respect to the vessel within 180 degrees.

This method of towing, compared to the previous one, takes little time to receive the rope, since the tugboat can approach the vessel on the move. In a short time, the vessel can be brought to the berth and moored. This method eliminates the danger of the rope winding on the screw.

Another method involves towing a marine vessel by two tugboats, which take mooring lines from the side opposite to the berth. When moving, tugs Follow the vessel with a lag and accompany it to the place of mooring, mooring or turning. This method is especially reliable when towing a vessel with disabled machinery, in the presence of strong winds, currents and bends. Vessels with a lifting capacity of 10 thousand tons are moored in just 10-15 minutes.

As for the towing of sea and river barges, such methods will be the most effective.

Towing a barge by a tugboat with a lag: it approaches the stern of the barge and is moored to it through the bow and stern bollards, securing the rope with a slug. The rope is tightened by a manual or steam winch, followed by attachment to bollards. The stern of the tugboat protrudes from the stern of the barge by several meters for better control en route. At the same time, the tugboat can easily move to any point of the barge body, push it or pull it away, working in reverse.

When two barges are towed by one tugboat, the bow of the barges is held together with a rope, and the stern forms a fork into which the tugboat enters and rigidly secures the barges together with its hull. It creates a single whole, like a ship with a working machine and steering controls.

The method of towing three, four or more barges by one tugboat is performed by fastening the front barges together with a log, and their aft parts together with a tugboat. This contributes to excellent management and the least time spent on all operations.

You can also specify the method of operation of the tow truck-"pusher". It does not significantly differ from previous methods, except for the shape of the "pusher" body. The nose of the latter with a buffer rests against the barges and is rigidly attached to them together. The thrust of the "pusher" with the barges is reinforced with special metal wedges, which prevents the "pusher" from rolling or diverging from the barges.

The use of these methods will minimize the possibility of ship collisions both during the day and at night, damage, and, most importantly, significantly reduce the time spent on towing, mooring and installing ships, which is especially important for high—speed fleet handling in the port. transescort.org