Emergency Towing Arrangement – Regulations and Requirements

July 15, 2018

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Emergency Towing Arrangement is compulsory for all tankers of 20,000 DWT and above (Diagram for both forward and aft arrangement at the end).
It should be provided at both forward and aft end.
Emergency Towing Arrangement should be able to work without any power supply and should be accessible to the towing ship without needing to come too close.
It should be ready for rapid deployment and at least one of the two should be pre-rigged.
Should be of sufficient strength, taking into account all the forces acting upon it.
Strength of the towing components should be as follows:

At least 1000 kN for tankers of 20,000-50,000 DWT.
At least 2000 kN for tankers of 50,000 DWT and above.
Sufficient strength at all towing angles from Centre line to 90° (Port & Stbd) and 30° vertically.

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Length of the towing pennant should be at least twice the lightest seagoing ballast freeboard at the fairlead + 50 mtrs.
Fairlead should be broad enough to allow passing of the largest portion of the chafing gear, towline.
If a chafing chain is used, it should extend from the strong point to at least 3 mtrs beyond the fairlead to ensure that towing pennant remains out of the fairlead during the operation.
Arrangement should be there for safe and effective use in darkness also. This is achieved by installing small bulbs on the float line and buoy.
Forward arrangement should be deployed within 60 minutes with few men.
Aft ETA should be capable of being deployed within 15 minutes by a single crew member.

The regulations for Emergency Towing Arrangement are as per SOLAS Chapter II-1, Regulation 3.4.