Mooring Winch
A Mooring Winch is powered deck machinery with a horizontal drum that both hauls in a mooring line and stows it on the drum. It heaves the ship alongside during mooring and then holds the line under tension while berthed. Many winches have a warping end for handling other lines.
Some winches are fitted with an automatic self-tension mode that pays out or heaves in line to keep tension constant as the ship rises and falls with the tide or surges at the berth — though this mode must be used carefully, as it can mask an over-loaded line.
Mooring winches are the workhorses of berthing: they provide the power to bring a ship alongside and the means to hold it there. Their brake-holding capacity, condition and correct operation are central to whether a mooring holds — a rendered or failed winch brake is a common factor in mooring incidents.
What is a self-tensioning mooring winch?
A winch that can automatically heave or pay out line to keep tension roughly constant as the ship moves at the berth. It is convenient but can hide an overloaded line, so its use is controlled.