ABSTRACT

Towage is in essence a service by one vessel to another for a fixed remuneration. The most common reason for one vessel to require such service is that, for one reason or another, it lacks its own motive power. The case which follows is cited purely as an illustration of an 'exclusively' towage situation. That a salvage element entered into it was eventually discredited. The terms and conditions under which towage is to be performed is customarily embodied in a written agreement, in printed form, the form in the United Kingdom being the UK Standard Conditions for Towage and Other Services as revised 1986. One purpose of the 1986 and 1983 revisions of the UK standard conditions for towage and other services was to comply with the provisions of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 which is the legislative principal contribution towards a social development of fair trading in the UK.