Two main different ranges of barges are equipped with winches. On the one hand, the transportation barges; on the other hand, the working and handling barges. Winches functions and features are consequently very different to suit both ranges of barges.
Transportation barges are first of all fitted with coupling winches, which are dedicated to couple and tighten barges together in order to create a convoy. These winches are hand-operated by the mean of a hand-wheel. Their pulling capacity varies from 2Mt up to 3.5Mt and their holding capacity generate by a band-brake varies from 10Mt up to 60Mt. Our ADAX range perfectly complies with these features needed for such an application.
These barges can also be fitted with anchoring winches, usually called “windlasses”, which allows the anchor to be lifted and lowered by the mean of a wire rope or a chain.
Regarding the working and handling barges, they are, most of the time, designed for underwater civil works as dead weights lifting, dredging, riprapping or pile driving. Therefore, different kinds of winches are used: lifting winches, mooring winches or freefall winches. All these winches are historically fitted with hydraulic motors (this is currently still the case for a majority of such winches) but nevertheless they are nowadays more and more fitted with electric motors.
For lifting operations, these winches are quite the same as the one used for industrial cranes for instance. Only corrosion-proof painting processes are reinforced in order to withstand high humidity and marine atmospheres.
However, mooring operations need dedicated winches fitted with very long ropes. Some demanding mechanical, hydraulic and electrical features are imperative for proper and reliable working: spooling device, pressure rollers, manual band-brake, clutch or constant tension control.
Our ARGOS BMF range has been designed especially for moving and securing working and handling barges in a way where efficiency and security are the key points. Its special functionalities are available for line pulls from 2Mt up to 20Mt. But further, our ARMOR range, which allows multi-motors architecture, can offer you line pulls up to 200Mt.