Chain and Stopper

Two of my most favourite pieces of equipment. I like heavy anchor chain. It is indomitable and will not break. Three inch chain like the one you see here in our stopper, waiting to be transferred to the Husky in the background, will only break when the tension is exceeding 430 tons. If you could put 430 tons of tension on this small barge, you could let it fly, so no worries that this chain will ever break. Chain will rust and finally deteriorate, but that will take decades. For a captain of a tug, a chain bridle on your tow is a guarantee for a good night rest. There is only one very dangerous aspect on chain; it is a weapon of mass destruction when it starts running out uncontrollable. That's because of her weight. Three inch chain weighs 3681 kg per shot of 90 ft. If that starts running from your deck, it will end in an enormous mushroom cloud of dust and rust. When the cloud is disappeared you have a completely flush deck, everything will be gone. The second piece of equipment i like on this picture is the stopper holding the chain. It is even stronger than the chain and can hold more than 500 tons. We can lift it hydraulically from the bridge, so you wait for the right moment, raise the stopper, and you successfully prevented the chain from mass destruction.