ABSTRACT
Emergency towing arrangements for tankers have been around since 1987, but more recent legislation that came into force in January 2012 has made emergency towing arrangements (ETAs) statutory for all commercial ships over 500 grt. Supervision and advice on securing towlines will tend to be offered by the 'towmaster', who may or may not be the Master of the towing vessel. Towlines after the unexpected incident tend to employ the ETA or a composite towline arrangement. Where a long-distance towing operation is pre-planned, as with taking a vessel for scrapping, a towing bridle arrangement may by employed as an alternative to an ETA. Outside of harbour limits the oceangoing tug is available for delivery of project cargoes, barge transport and salvage operations. A salvage Master or marine surveyor could expect to be in communication with government organisations as well as local communities, technical operators, maritime bodies and legal and company representatives.
