Tow Wire

Although it looks simple, a steel wire is a complicated piece of equipment. You can not simply order a steel wire and put it on a drum of an ocean going tug. All aspects of use have to be considered before ordering one. The maximum bollard pull is of course the most important one. There are an enormous number of different types of steel wires, every type with its own characteristics. For instance; a tow wire must have resistance against abrasion, must withstand shock loads and must be light and flexible as well. It sounds strange, but you can not put 150 ton tension on a 150 ton maximum breaking load steel wire. The maximum tension to be applied on a regular steel wire is approximate 50% of its maximum breaking load. Up till this load, the wire will take its original shape again after the tension is released. If you put more on it, the wire will deform cold and will not return to its original size. In other words; it is damaged and it will lose its flexibility. So our tow wire has a maximum breaking strength of 384 tons. It is three years old now and retirement is not very far. To give him an extra year life time extension with a lot of towing miles ahead, we turned the wire today. The, hardly used, beginning will be the end now. It means that the socket, the end termination had to be cut from the wire, and that is what our AB Janyun is doing here.