Legal Definitions - towage

Towage refers to two related concepts within maritime law:

• The act or service of pulling or guiding a ship, boat, or other vessel through water, typically by another, more powerful vessel known as a tugboat. This service is often necessary for large ships maneuvering in confined spaces like harbors, for vessels that are disabled, or for barges that lack their own propulsion.
• The fee or charge levied for providing such a service.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of towage:

• Example 1: Port Entry Assistance
  A massive container ship, arriving at a busy port, needs to navigate a narrow channel and dock safely. Due to its immense size and the tight maneuvering required, the ship's captain requests the assistance of two powerful tugboats. The tugboats connect to the container ship and carefully push and pull it into its designated berth. The entire operation of the tugboats guiding the container ship is an act of towage. The invoice sent to the shipping company for this assistance would represent the towage charge.

• Example 2: Disabled Vessel Recovery
  A pleasure yacht, sailing offshore, suddenly experiences a complete engine failure, leaving it adrift and unable to return to port. The yacht owner contacts a marine assistance service, which dispatches a specialized tugboat. The tugboat reaches the disabled yacht, secures a tow line, and pulls it safely back to the nearest marina. The service provided by the tugboat in bringing the yacht back to shore is towage. The bill presented to the yacht owner for this rescue and transport service is also referred to as towage.

• Example 3: Inland Waterway Transport
  A company needs to transport a large, non-self-propelled barge filled with construction materials along a river to a building site. A river tugboat is hired to connect to the barge and provide all the necessary propulsion and steering to move it upstream. The act of the tugboat propelling the barge along the waterway is an instance of towage. The payment made by the construction company to the tugboat operator for moving the barge is the towage cost.