SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, USA — Markey Machinery is pleased to announce that it has been awarded the order for a complete suite of deck machinery for the most powerful Harbor Class Tugs ever to be built in Canada. The tugs will be operated by Group Ocean of Quebec, Canada for harbor operations, ship escort services, short and long distance towing, as well as rescue operations and wreck removals. The new TunDRA 100 tugs, highly powerful, efficient and versatile, will serve to meet the growing needs in power and capacities for ice navigation of the maritime market in Northern Quebec and Canada. The hull of the TunDRA 100 tug will be reinforced and certified “1A Super F.S.” by Lloyd’s Register for ice navigation, and its engines will develop a force of 8,000 BHP, resulting in a total bollard pull of nearly 100 Metric Tons.
Jacques Tanguay, Group Ocean First Vice President and General Manager stated in a Group Ocean press release earlier this year that "Ships are constantly increasing in size, chinamax vessels are almost here and the shipping market of Northern Quebec and Canada offers a horizon of sustainable development. We needed to equip ourselves with tugs able to meet the increased demand in power and capacity in the ice. This new project is the result of several technical studies and a logical expansion of our fleet. We are already considering the production of a series of these ultra-powerful tugs”.
The Markey suites of deck machinery will include:
Markey Model DESDF-48-200HP Electric Class III Hawser Winch
o A Split-Drum sized to store up to 300 meters of 10” circ. (80mm dia.) soft-line on each side
o An extra-heavy duty levelwind featuring two rope guides to service each side of mid-flange
o Render/Recover® capable of operation up to full rated line-speeds and line-tension
o Instrumentation to allow for the display of line-tension, scope, and line speed during ALL
modes of operation.
o Controls including a handheld wireless remote unit, as well as wheelhouse and on-deck
stationary control stations
o A load shedding feature enabling the winch to automatically reduce power to a predefined
limit if the generator becomes too loaded.
Markey Model TES-40UL-125HP Electric Single-Drum Towing Winch
o Drum sized for up to 800 meters of 64 mm (2-1/2”) wire rope
o Enclosed chain-and-diamond-screw automatic level-wind, in oil-bath (spooling gear)
o Instrumentation to allow for the display of line-tension, scope, and line speed
o Handheld wireless remote operation using the same control used for Hawser Winch
operation, plus dedicated wheelhouse and on-deck stationary control stations
Two (2) Markey Model VEP-16-40 Electric Vertical Capstan / Windlasses
o Sized for 26 mm stud link chain
o On-deck stationary control station
Scott Kreis, Markey’s Vice President of Sales and project leader for this opportunity, makes special note of the extensive collaborative effort between Group Ocean, Markey, Robert Allan Ltd and Lloyd’s Register.
“When we were first approached by Group Ocean over two years ago, the development and coordination of “Ice Class” standards by the world’s marine rating agencies were in their earliest stages. Group Ocean had never used Markey equipment, but was well aware of our reputation as a manufacturer of rugged, reliable, and technologically superior equipment.”
“Following our standard sales and engineering methodology, we visited Group Ocean’s headquarters, met with their senior management and rode their tugs to gain a better feel for their particular operational challenges.”
“We then applied our decades of experience in supplying deck equipment for service in Alaska and oceanographic winches for use in Antarctica to satisfy the requirements of both Group Ocean and Lloyd’s Register.”
“Finally, we worked closely with the naval architects and marine engineers at Robert Allan Ltd to integrate the winch systems into the TunDRA 100 tug design.”
Founded in 1907, Markey Machinery is the leader in the design and manufacturing of high quality custom deck machinery for workboat, scientific, and dockside applications. Markey products include towing, ship‐ assist, and escort winches; single or multi‐drum and traction‐style deep sea research winches; capstans, windlasses and other high performance machines.
