The
procedures should be considered as part of the emergency preparedness
required the International Safety Management (ISM) Code. The towing
procedures should be maintained on board the ship for ready use by
the ship’s crew in preparing their ship for towage in an emergency.
The crew should have good knowledge of equipment stowage location and
accessibility. Any identified improvements to stowage arrangements
should be implemented.
The
owner/operator should ensure that the ship is inspected and its
capability to be towed under emergency situations is evaluated. Both
equipment on board and available procedures should be reviewed,
including :
→
line handling procedures (passing and receiving messenger lines,
towlines, bridles); and
→
layout, structural adequacy and safe working loads of connection
points (fairleads chocks, winches, bitts, bollards), etc.
The
on-board tools and equipment available for assembling the towing gear
and their locations should be identified. These should include but
not be limited to:
→
chains;
→
cables;
→
shackles;
→
stoppers;
→
tools; and
→
line throwing apparatus.
The
availability and characteristics of radio equipment on board should
be identified, in order to enable communication between deck crew,
bridge and the towing/salvage ship.
BOOKLET :
The
Emergency Towing Booklet (ETB) should be ship specific and be
presented in a clear, concise and ready-to-use format (booklet, plan,
poster, etc.). Ship-specific data should include but not be limited
to:
→
ship’s name;
→
call sign;
→
IMO number;
→
anchor details (shackle, connection details, weight, type, etc.);
→
cable and chain details (lengths, connection details, proof load,
etc.);
→
height of mooring deck(s) above base;
→
draft range; and
→
displacement range.
All
procedures should be presented in a clear and easy to understand
format, which will aid their smooth and swift application in an
emergency situation. Comprehensive diagrams and sketches should be
available and include the following:
→
assembly and rigging diagrams;
→
towing equipment and strong point locations; and
→
equipment and strong point capacities and safe working loads (SWLs).
A
copy should be kept at hand by the owners/operators in order to
facilitate the passing on of information to the towage company as
early as possible in the emergency. A copy should also be kept in a
common electronic file format, which will allow faster distribution
to the concerned parties.
A
minimum of three copies should be kept on board and located in:
→
the bridge;
→
a forecastle space; and
→
the ship’s office or cargo control room.
DEVELOPING
PROCEDURES :
Ship-specific
procedures should be identified during the ship’s evaluation and
entered accordingly in the ETB. The procedures should include, as a
minimum, the following:
→
a quick-reference decision matrix that summarizes options under
various emergency scenarios, such as weather conditions (mild,
severe), availability of shipboard power (propulsion, on-deck power),
imminent danger of grounding, etc.;
→
organization of deck crew (personnel distribution, equipment
distribution, including radios, safety equipment, etc.);
→
organization of tasks (what needs to be done, how it should be done,
what is needed for each task, etc.);
→
diagrams for assembling and rigging bridles, tow lines, etc., showing
possible emergency towing arrangements for both fore and aft. Rigged
lines should be lead such that they avoid sharp corners, edges and
other points of stress concentration;
→
power shortages and dead ship situations, which must be taken into
account, especially for the heaving across of heavy towing lines;
→
a communications plan for contacting the salvage/towing ship . This
plan should list all information that the ship’s master needs to
communicate to the salvage/towing ship.
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