Tag: towing vessels

The work of tugboat pilots and crews is important but also challenging enough. Which are, therefore, the necessary preventive actions to be followed, in case of towing?

After a cargo ship ran aground off Helsingborg, Sweden, local authorities managed to refloat it, with no pollution reported. The Swedish Coast Guard also performed a sobriety test on the Master of the ship and it handed the case over to the police, as it was suspecting that he was under the influence.

The ill-fated car carrier 'Makassar Highway' has been successfully towed and moored in the harbor area of Oskarshamn in the early hours of 2 August, 9 days after it ran aground off the Swedish coast, on the Baltic sea, according to the latest update by the Coast Guard. 

On Tuesday night, the towing operation of the grounded car carrier 'Makassar Highway' started for Oskarshamn. The towing takes place in a speed of two knots and is followed by Coast Guard units in case any oil is released. At the current rate, the ship is expected to arrive at Oskarshamn overnight towards Thursday.

The US Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Chicago issued the first Certificate of Inspection in its area of responsibility to the towing vessel Prentiss Brown, operated by Port City Marine Services, on Friday July 20. Subchapter M, as the new towing vessel inspections regulations are called, came into force, on July 20.

The US Coast Guard and the Marine Transportation Act of 2004 included a provision to add towing vessels to a list of vessels subject to inspection and certification. This Final Rule set July 20, 2018, as the compliance date for all towing vessels subject to Subchapter M.

USCG informed that the TugSafe Lite has been expanded and retitled TugSafe Central. TugSafe Central is an online source for Subchapter M compliance requirements and guidance. However, TugSafe Central should not be used as a standalone source to determine compliance with Subchapter M. 

NTSB released its report on the ground of the towing vessel Eric Haney, on the Mississippi River, on July 8, 2017. When the vessel ran aground all crewmembers climbed aboard one of the empty barges without any reported injuries. The barges broke free, and the Eric Haney partially sank. Minimal oil sheening was noted after the sinking.

The Subchapter M regulations provide minimum safety, lifesaving, construction, machinery, electrical, and operational requirements for US towing vessels. All applicable towing vessels must be in compliance with the Subchapter M by 20 July 2018.

On 3 May 2017, the USCG response boat 'CG 29113' allided with the Highway 11 Bridge while responding to a non-distress search and rescue case involving an adrift sailboat in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana. The accident caused a minor injury to one USCG crew member and damage estimated at $337,000 to the CG 29113.