Emergency Towing

PROCEDURES :

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.