The Type DESS-52, 250hp electric winch was purpose built by Markey for the Response and can winch in a line against 250 tons resistance at full power. With constant tension line pulls to 440,000 lbs, it handles a 10” towline rated at 1 million pounds.

The winch will perform automatic inhaul and payout at speeds of up to 700ft/min and has water cooled slip brakes capable of continuously dissipating up to 1,600hp. It features full ‘render/recover’ controls for active winching and automatic or manual three speed transmission selectable in the wheelhouse. There is active line tension monitoring during all winch operations and seamless transfer from render/recover mode to render only mode using the water cooled brakes. Power is supplied by dual all electric 250hp AC variable frequency drive and there is a user controlled 30hp electric fairleader with manual override to automatically spool line.

Markey claims there is no other hawser winch in the world to match this one, representing a major step forward in escort tug winch technology. Its technology allows the tug Captain to concentrate on fully utilising the potential of a very special tug, while the hawser winch handles the line.

Markey equipment is built to last, and when it does need refurbishment, the factory that built it in the first place can work wonders. A Markey TDSD-32 towing winch originally built in 1973 recently arrived at the Markey Shop for a complete rebuild so that its owner, Penn Maritime, could get another 30 years of service out of it. As our before and after photos show, it left the shop this year as good as new and ready to go back to work.

This Markey double-drum towing winch is rated for 2,200 feet of 2” wire rope on each drum, and features a line pull of up to 135,000 pounds via its diesel engine power.