Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessel
The AHTS vessel: winch and brake arrangements, stern roller, towing pins and chain handling gear, and rig anchor deployment and recovery.
An anchor handling tug supply vessel is built to lay, recover and reposition the mooring anchors of offshore units, and to tow them, while also carrying supplies. The work is distinct from a ship handling her own ground tackle: an AHTS deploys anchors that belong to another structure, to an analysed mooring pattern, in water depths far beyond a merchant ship’s cable.
The full article will cover the deck arrangement that makes the work possible, including the anchor handling winch and its brake, the stern roller over which gear is deployed and recovered, the towing pins and shark jaws that control chain and wire on an open deck, and the karm forks and chain lockers that handle rig chain.
It will also cover the stability and safety questions specific to the trade, since deck loads applied over the stern with a heavy tow can produce large heeling moments, and the sector’s casualty record has driven changes in both design and operating practice.