Cost of cargo handling operations can be reduced by equipment that uses less time and energy to perform and randrequires less manpower to operate, monitor, and maintain. One objective of this proposal is to evolve a preliminary design of a representative piece of machinery, namely a mooring/warping automatic tensioning winch using advanced electro-mechanical technology, eliminating hydraulics and incorporating additional automatic operational features. A second objective is to generate data to allow economic operational and support comparisons with contemporary equipment.
