The muscular tug, Capt. Brian A. McAllister, named for the legendary chairman of the McAllister Towing Company, led a parade of naval vessels participating in New York City’s annual Fleet Week show.

Systems Interface designed and built the winch controls for this vessel including the HMI console and the Shared VFD Drive System for the Markey Machinery 100-hp Class III Escort winch on the bow and a 75-hp towing winch on the stern.

This tug was featured in an article in the May 2019 issue of the Professional Mariner.

15 miles north of Ensenada, Mexico, in Pacific waters just off the Mexican Baja, Moran’s SMBC joint venture (the initials stand for Servicios Maritimos de Baja California) has been writing a new chapter in the company’s history.

Based at the Port of Ensenada, SMBC comprises four ocean escort tugs and several support vessels. Costa Azul presents a special challenger for escort tugs. located on a remote but exposed section of the Baja coastline, it frequently experiences sea conditions that produce nearly 10-foot swells.

Markey Machinery designed and built the first of its kind, most advanced high-performance electric winch afloat. It is described as a double-drum “waterfall” design, the most powerful and responsive unit Markey Machinery has ever built. The winch’s most outstanding feature is a unique render-recover system that automatically keeps the line tension constant, compensating for the tug’s motion, thereby preventing snap-loads and breakage.

Systems Interface, a controls partner for Markey Machinery, was instrumental in the design, manufacturing, and commissioning of the winch drive and control system.