A Fellow Blogger Writes

(Ed. note: Capt. Peter Boucher is the author of PetersPoints.)

Capt. Richard,

You are going to rule me a pest! However I find your work fascinating and having been engaged in towing on the Inside Passage in the 1960's can relate to your area and the skills needed.

Two points,
one, you seem to tow on a single span line and I notice the boats hanging off on the quarter. If it was a video I suspect they sheer from quarter to quarter. Therefore I am wondering why you do not tow on a double bridle and span rig? What I mean is have a bridle on your stern, towline span to a second bridle secured on each bow of the towed vessel.
second, I was interested to read that the Vessel Assist contract does not include de-watering. This should bring Lloyds Open Agreement into play for future salvage claims. In turn that activates the rule of whom passed the first line to whom. Do you apply it in small vessel rescue towing. If you are not familiar with it I can explain it.

When I taught Maritime Law for the EU Certificate of Equivalent Skills I found the Megayacht Captains and Officers had no idea what I was talking about! They had to quickly grasp it to pass their UK examination!!

Another area of no knowledge and procedure was marine chartering which amazed me considering this is the bulk of their business. Apparently the Brokers do all the paperwork and my review of their agreements was that it would be tossed out in UK Admiralty Court. As always,

Good Watch

Peter

CAPT. D. Peter Boucher, Dip.LA, MN (Ret.)
Master Mariner & IMO Consultant

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Thanks Peter,

You're not a pest at all.

First, each assistance tow is a little different, and this one was no exception. There steering was hard over when their hydraulic line failed. They one had one cleat forward, on the windlass. Normally we tow from a bridle, but with only one cleat that was not an option. The result was the boat veering off.

Second, the Assistance Towing business, is an assist - kinda like AAA. They don't cover you when you've had an accident, and neither does Vessel Assist. A breakdown is different than a hard grounding or salvage (immediate danger.)

Immediate danger is the key. A great link to Vessel Assist information is here.

The Vessel Assist Service agreement is here.

We did a post on Salvage vs. Assistance last July, that post is here.

US Salvage law is based on the Supreme Court decision known as The Blackwall, about 1860, and SALCON 89, the International Convention.

All the best,

Richard