European Tugowners Association discusses safety issues

Friday, 22 May 2009 09:35

The European Tugowners Association held it 46th Annual General Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, from May 13 to 15. The main topic of this year’s meeting was safety as

the ever-increasing size of ships continues to requires tugowners to renew and strengthen their tug fleets and towage capabilities.

 

Harbour tugs with 5,000hp (3,728kW) or 7,000hp (5,219kW) are increasingly common at European ports and the meeting addressed safety issues relating to the ability keep safety standards in place with the increase in vessel sizes.

The European Tugowners Association recently teamed up with the European Maritime Pilots Association (EMPA) to address safety issues together since harbour pilots were encountering similar challenges. The working group will extend its findings to the international classification societies, shipyards, ship designers and maritime insurers.

In particular, the panel said, it is wrong to consider a minimum speed of 9-11kt as ‘dead slow ahead’ when dealing with 10,000teu vessels.

"This is definitely too much for tugs and their crews to safely connect a towing line,” it warned.

The alliance also raised doubts about the structural strength of hulls and bollards of such large ships.

The European Tugowners Association represents over 80 members from 20 countries operating more than 700 tugs throughout Europe.

Sources: Baird/Safety at Sea