Towage is the act of having one ship or boat pull (tow) another.

The puller is referred to as the tug, while the vessel pulled is referred to as the tow. Ships specialized for towing are called tugboats. Ships without motive power, which can only be moved by towing, are called barges. As defined in English law, it is in essence a service by one vessel to another vessel for a fixed remuneration. The most common reason for requiring this service is the lack of its own motive power. Conventionally, towage is defined as "the employment of one vessel to expedite the voyage of another, when nothing more is required than the accelerating of her progress". Apart from accelerating vessels, acquiring towage service is a common practice for towing barges, platform of drilling oil, floating ship yards, etc. Along with the development of sea carriage business and oil drilling business, many towage service providers are set up nowadays. Towage is based upon the employment of one vessel by another which means a contract to employ that vessel. In most cases, contract will be in a standard form and part of this work will be taken up by a detailed consideration of the standard form contracts in most common use.

Towage contract characteristics

1. Tugs are not common carriers in respect of the vessels they tow. Common carrier is defined as the one who runs the business of trade of carrying goods and is usually employed by shippers. Common carriers for reward are absolutely responsible for the goods they carry. However, no English or Commonwealth decision has held a tug owner liable as a common carrier in respect of the vessel towed. So, in case of any loss or damage to the tow, the burden of proving fault lies on the tugs owner. 2. Towage contracts are not contracts. Ordinary principles of contract law are applied to towage contracts. The towage contracts are not contracts in which one party is under a fundamental duty to disclose all material facts within the parties' knowledge and surrounding circumstances. However, Admiralty court still retains a general equitable jurisdiction to declare invalid and to refuse to enforce certain towage agreements if it is considered to be seriously inequitable to one party or the other. This jurisdiction has been applied to some cases where there has been a lack of disclosure. These principles were taken up and considered in somewhat unusual case of The Unique Mariner. The Unique Mariner ran aground off the coast of Indonesia and her owners cabled the master notifying him that a suitable tug was to be dispatched from Singapore. By chance, the defendants tug Salvaliant was in the area already and approached the other vessel. The master of the Unique Mariner, mistakenly believing that the Salvaliant was the tug sent by the owners, signed the Lloyds Standard Form of Salvage Agreement: No Cure No Pay. On learning that another tug (the one arranged by the owners) was on its way, he ordered the master and crew of the Salvaliant to stop work. The owners then sought to dispute the validity of Agreement. This is an example of the exercise by the Admiralty Court of its equitable power to treat as invalid, by the reason of serious unfairness to one party. 3. Authority of the master to enter into a contract to be towed. The shipmaster is ordinarily authorised to enter into towage contracts which would bind his principals and towage service providers. However, there are some exceptional cases in the specific field of towage, Streamship Co. v. Anderson, It is held that a captain cannot bind its owners by every towage contract which he may think fit to make; it is binding upon them only when the surrounding circumstances are such to make it reasonable to be made, and also where its terms are reasonable.

4. Authority of the master to enter into a contract to tow. The shipmaster of an ordinary ship carrying cargo or performing a charter must be very circumspect in committing his owners to the performance of a towage contract. The interests of cargo owners or other parties involved in the contract of affeightment must be considered. Whenever a tug towing a vessel under contract, the original voyage is interrupted which means it will amount to a breach of contract by the shipowner, unless it is allowed by the terms and condition of the bill of lading or charterparty. The principals of the shipmaster are entitled to either authorize his shipmaster to enter a towage contract or to limit his authority to certain extent. 5. Jurisdiction Any claim in the nature of towage in respect of a ship is within the jurisdiction of the Admiralty Court. The plaintiff can take advantage of the special feature of Admiralty jurisdiction, it is the right to proceed in rem, which means the plaintiff can sue against the ship itself. However, actions in respect of towage are capable of being true actions in rem. A true action in rem is one which may be brought against the ship no matter who the owner is and these kinds of actions therefore survive a change of ownership after the cause of action has accrued, even though the new owner may have bought in good faith without notice of the claim. True actions in rem include cases in which there is a maritime lien on the ship for the amount claimed, but towage confers no such right.

Duties of tug and tow

The duties of tug and tow as regards each other are largely determined by the agreement between them. The U.K. Standard Conditions For Towage And Other Services (Revised 1986) is commonly used for port and harbour work in UK. For ocean towage, BIMCO forms, Towhre (for daily rate) and Towcon (for lump sum), are increasingly used. The respective duties of tug and tow also depend in part upon which vessel is in control, no definite set of rules can determine it. Fitness for the endeavour The common law implies certain terms into the towage contract as to the tugs fitness for the endeavour. The owners of the tug must ensure that his tug provided should be efficient and her crew, tackle and equipment should also be well enough to complete the task under weather and circumstances reasonably to be expected. Nevertheless, not every towage contract will incorporate an obligation or warranty as to the fitness of the tug to perform the towage. Whenever the contract is for the hire of a named tug, no such warranty is implied. Robertson v. The Amazon Tug & Lighterage Co. is a good case to justify it. Extent of tugs obligation to perform towage The corollary of the obligation to provide an efficient tug, with crew, tackle and equipment equal to complete the towage mission under expected weather and circumstances, is that the tug does not guarantee to perform the tow successfully. Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 It remains to be seen whether any of the above rules have been altered by the Supply of Goods and Service Act 1982. Section 13 provides that in a contract for the supply of a service where the supplier is acting in the course of a business, there is an implied term that the supplier will carry out the service with reasonable care and skill.

And by Section 14, it is provided that: 1)Where, under a contract for the supply of a service by a supplier acting in the course of a business, the time for the service to be carried out is not fixed by the contract, left to be fixed in a manner agreed by the contract or determined by the course of dealing between the parties, there is an implied term that the supplier will carry out the service within a reasonable time. 2)What is a reasonable time is a question of fact. Towage is undoubtedly a service which falls within the Act and it will normally be supplied in the course of a business. But the term best endeavours and to bring to the task competent skill, arguably go further than the obligation to use reasonable care and skill contained in the Act. Particular duties arising during towage 1. Preparation The tug has a duty to ensure that those matters appertaining to the safety and success of the towage per se are properly carried out. This would include making up the tow properly, inspecting lashings, inspecting the tow-line, ensuring that the tow-line is an appropriate length for the towage to be undertaken and ensuring the tow is displaying the proper lights. The tow should be displayed in proper lights. 2. Proper seamanship The crew of the tug must show competent skill. This includes keeping a proper look-out (from the tow as well as the tug, if the scope of the towing hawser or the size of the tow warrants it) and being prepared at a proper speed for the conditions and must take care to avoid shearing on the part of the tow. 3. Tugs duty where towage interrupted There are many different kinds of incidents which interrupt towage, for example, the tow-line may part; the tug may be obliged to let go of the tow in order to avoid a collision; the tow may need repairs. In every situation where the towage is interrupted, the guiding principle is that it is the tugs duty to return to the tow and resume towage. This principle often takes the form of an express contractual term. It is one facet of the tugs duty to use best endeavours to perform the towage. 4. Failure to take towage assistance Sometimes, a vessel may be found negligent not to have engaged a tug where the circumstances warranted it. In the case of The Gertor, the operation of towage could not be performed safely without assistance and the vessel was blown on to a pier before a tug was finally engaged. The delay in taking towage assistance was held to have been negligent. 5. Performance of tows part of towage The tows duties are generally perceived to be of a passive nature, but this perception is misleading. The tow is often the vessel in control and, in any event, always has a positive duty not to increase the tugs difficulties by any act or omission on its part. Standard form contracts The U.K. Standard Conditions For Towage And Other Services (1986) These Standard Conditions were first introduced in the 1920s and have been revised on several occasions since. Their basic conception is to place most of the liability and commercial risk with tow and, to that end, the terms are unashamedly one sided. Towcon and Towhire

These agreements, first published in October 1985, came about as a result of negotiation between BIMCO (the Baltic and International Maritime Council), the International Salvage Union and the European Tugowners Association. The Netherlands Towage Conditions 1951 The Netherlands Towage Conditions apply to all towage conducted within Dutch territorial waters, unless the parties expressly agree otherwise. The contract is more balanced than the U.K. Standard Conditions, but it is still the case that the tow bears most of the risk of the undertaking. Scandinavian Tugowners Standard Conditions This agreement, (revised in 1985), consists of just three short clauses, which do no more than set out the respective liabilities of the parties for damage (which is given a very wide definition). The tugowner is exempted from liability for damage caused to the hirer in connection with the towage service, unless the damage is the consequence of fault or neglect on the part of the tugowners management. Towage vs salvage Distinction between towage and salvage 1) The purpose of contract: The purpose of towage contract is to offer towing service to a vessel by tugs, while the purpose of salvage is to save vessels which are in danger. 2) The tugged vessels are in different conditions In towage contract, the tugged vessel should be in normal condition without certain extent of risk; while in salvaged, the salved vessel or other maritime property are usually under risk. 3) Remuneration/reward difference In towage contract, the hirers reward of providing towage service depends mainly on the condition of towed vessels and the distance of towage. The towage fee and payment are usually mentioned in the contract in advance. However, in salvage, the reward of a salvor is based on No Cure No Pay, reward less than the value of the salved ship or property principals. In general, the reward of salvage is higher than the remuneration of towage. 4) Need for a contract Although there is nothing to prevent one vessel gratuitously giving another a tow, the right of a tug or other towing vessel to payment always depends on contract whether express or implied. But in salvage, it does not totally depend on contract and may be rewarded even though the shipmaster of the salved ship has declined the offer of assistance. 5) No need for success The need of success is a feature of salvage, but not of towage. It is a necessary element of a salvage claim because salvage awards can not exceed the value of the salved vessel or properties. The right to payment on towage will depend on the construction of the contract rather than the success of the venture. 6) Absence of lien There is no maritime lien on the tow for the payment of the towage price fixed in the towage contract whereas a tugowner has a maritime lien over property salved. Collision liabilities of tug and tow Collision at sea which give rise to damage on the part of one or more of the vessels involved are actionable on proof of negligence. The problem of liability may arise due to the collision between tug, tow and a third vessel or in situation in which no third vessel is involved. The Inter-

Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) has set up the Collision Regulations and Regulations For Preventing Collisions At Sea 1972. It is used to determine the negligence problem of ship collisions.