Emergency Towing Arrangements and Procedures as per SOLAS

Emergency Towing Arrangements on Tankers:

• Emergency Towing Arrangement shall be fitted at both ends on board every tanker of not less than 20,000 tonnes deadweight.

• For tankers constructed on or after 1 July 2002:

• The arrangement shall, at all times, be capable of rapid deployment in the absence of main power on the ship to be towed and easy connection to the towing ship.
• At least one of the emergency towing arrangements shall be pre-rigged ready for rapid deployment.
• The emergency towing arrangement at both ends shall be at adequate strength taking into account the size and deadweight of the ship, and the expected forces during the bad weather conditions.
• The design and construction and prototype testing of emergency towing arrangements shall be approved by the administration, based on the guidelines developed by the organization.    
• For tankers constructed before 1 July 2002, the design and construction of emergency towing arrangements shall be approved by the administration, based on the guidelines developed by the organization.     
• For existing tankers fitted with emergency towing arrangements, the existing arrangements can be retained, but the towing arrangement at one end of the ship should also comply with the pre-rigged requirements of the present Guidelines. 

Emergency Towing Procedures on Ships:

• Ships shall be provided with a ship-specific emergency towing procedure.

• The emergency towing procedure shall be carried aboard the ship for use in emergency situations and shall be based on existing arrangements and equipment available onboard the ship.  

• This emergency towing procedure is applicable to:

• All Passenger ships, not later than 1 January 2010
• Cargo Ships constructed on or after 1 January 2010
• Cargo ships constructed before 1 January 2010, not later than 1 January 2012

• The procedure shall include the following:

• Drawings of Fore and aft deck showing possible emergency towing arrangements.
• Inventory of equipment on board that can be used for emergency towing.
• Means and methods of communication.
• Sample procedures to facilitate the preparation for and conducting of emergency towing operations. 

Reference: IMO Publications & Documents - International Conventions - SOLAS Ch-II-1