TUG STABILITY

A Practical Guide to Safe Operations

by
Captain Henk Hensen
and
Dr Markus van der Laan

The ABR Company Limited

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 Copyright © H. Hensen and M. van der Laan

Published by
The ABR Company Limited
ABR House, Prospect Place, Trowbridge, Wiltshire BA14 8QA, UK
www.tugandosv.com

First published in Great Britain 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored

in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without
the prior written permission of the publisher and copyright holders, nor
be otherwise circulated in any form or binding or cover other than that in
which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the
subsequent purchaser.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data:

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Although great care has been taken with the writing and production of this
volume, neither The ABR Company Ltd nor the authors can accept any
responsibility for errors, omissions or their consequences. The opinions
expressed are those of the authors only and are not necessarily to be taken as the
policies or views of any organisation with which they have any connection.

Edited by Joceline Bury

Printed by ESP Colour Ltd, UK

ISBN 978-1-904050-29-2

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 TUG STABILITY
A Practical Guide to Safe Operations

by

Captain Henk Hensen and Dr Markus van der Laan

Front cover: Cutting the tow line to prevent capsizing

Photo: Fabian Schlosser, IDMovie, The Netherlands

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 Contents
Acknowledgements i
The Authors ii
Foreword I: Ashok Mahapatra, Director, Maritime Safety Division, IMO iii
Foreword II: Captain Arie Nygh iv
Authors’ Preface v
Glossary of Terms vii

1.0 TUG TYPES: AN OVERVIEW 1

2.0 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF STABILITY 11
2.1 The various forms of stability 11
2.2 Initial stability GM 11
2.3 Statical stability 14
2.4 Level of stability and its consequences 16
2.5 Course stability 19
3.0 HEELING FORCES WORKING ON AN ASSISTING TUG 23
3.1 Introduction 23
3.2 Towing point 24
3.3 The hydrodynamic centre of pressure 25
3.4 The various heeling forces: the static situations 26
3.5 The various heeling forces: the dynamic situations 33
3.6 How can heeling angles be reduced? 44
3.7 Stability requirements 61
3.8 Recommendations 62
4.0 SOME IMPORTANT BASIC DESIGN ASPECTS 65
4.1 A tug's beam 65
4.2 Freeboard 66
4.3 Superstructure 66
4.4 Water on deck and watertight integrity 68
4.5 SaferVents 71
4.6 Finally 72
5.0 PRACTICAL STABILITY ASPECTS 75
5.1 Introduction 75
5.2 Practical stability aspects 75
5.3 Summary 82
6.0 DAMAGE STABILITY 85
6.1 General tug layout with large engine room 85
6.2 Flooding as a result of collision or grounding 85
6.3 Flooding through various openings 88
6.4 Final comments 88
7.0 FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS 89

REFERENCES 92
Appendix 1: Overview of tug accidents 93
Appendix 2: Tug information 97
Appendix 3: View of capsizing tug 105
INDEX OF ADVERTISERS 106

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TY Acknowledgements
The authors are sincerely grateful for the contributions of several individuals and
companies. Without their support this book could not have been completed to the desired
standard.
We are most grateful to Associate Professor Paul Brandner, Research Leader, Cavitation
Research Laboratory, Australian Maritime College, University of Tasmania, who
generously provided several figures from his former study of ASD tugs, and shared his
expertise.
The following people and companies have also given their support:
Damen Shipyards, The Netherlands; Deborah V Franco, Vice President – Risk
Management, Environmental and Regulatory, Harley Marine Services, US; Baldo Dielen,
Partner, EDDY Tug; Fabian Schlosser, IDMovie, NL; Marinus Jansen, Naval Architect,
Rotor®tug, Rotterdam , NL; Robert Rodenburg, Naval Architect, Novatug, NL, and
Robert Allan Ltd, Canada.

And finally:
Chris Stockman, ASD tug master, Svitzer Australia, to whom we are very grateful for the
work he did in checking the manuscript.
Julian Parker, former Secretary to The Nautical Institute, who was always willing to help
in verifying certain parts of the manuscript, as was Alan Loynd, Managing Director,
Branscombe Marine Consultants, Hong Kong.
Ashok Mahapatra, Director, IMO Maritime Safety Division, who was so kind as to write
a Foreword.
Captain Arie Nygh, who wrote a much appreciated first impression of this book.
Leendert Muller, Managing Director of Multraship, who gave his valuable comments
after reading the manuscript.
Kees Polderman, former Chairman of IMO’s Sub-Committee on Safety of Navigation
(1998-2008), who was so helpful in contacting IMO.

Although the book has been a co-production by two authors, Captain Henk Hensen
would like to express his appreciation for the support of co-author Dr Markus van
der Laan, and his company IMC Corporate Licensing BV, who has been invaluable in
bringing this book into being. Books such as this cannot be based on the knowledge
and experience of just one maritime professional. Indeed, more expertise was needed,
particularly with theoretical and tug building background. This expertise has been
provided in a most professional way by Markus and his staff.

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 The Authors
Captain Henk Hensen is a Master Mariner FG and was a Port of Rotterdam pilot for 23
years. During his years as a pilot he was stationed at the Pilot Office of the Rotterdam
Port Authority for five years. During that time he started the first simulator courses
for harbour pilots and tug captains, and participated in many port studies, including
simulator research.

Following his pilot career he continued to work as a marine consultant on the nautical
aspects of port studies, harbour tug advice and simulator training. Projects have included
port entrance and port development studies for, among others, the ports of Rotterdam
and Amsterdam, as well as several other ports around the world. Other projects he was
involved in were studies for the development of LNG terminals, container terminals,
mooring simulation studies, simulator studies for safe bridge passages, studies on safe
and efficient harbour tug use, etc. He has also been involved as a nautical expert and
expert witness in several tug accident investigations and court cases.

As an author, his publications include, among others, the monograph Manoeuvring

Single Screw Vessels fitted with a Controllable Pitch Propeller in Confined Waters (1994);
the first and second edition of the book Tug Use in Port (1997, 2003); the monograph
Bow Tug Operations with Azimuth Stern Drive Tugs (2006), and numerous articles in
nautical magazines.

Captain Hensen is a Fellow of The Nautical Institute and of the ITA (International
Tugmasters Association) and a member of the International Federation of Shipmasters. He
was elected Tug Personality of the Year 2010 by the BTA (British Tugowners Association).

Dr Markus van der Laan graduated from Delft University of Technology in 1991 as a
Naval Architect. In 1997 he finished a PhD thesis on Environmental Tanker Design, in
co-operation with Shell.

Since 1997, he has been director of IMC, a consultancy firm active in the development and
engineering of various ship designs and associated ship equipment, including emergency
towing systems for tankers, 360 degree towing systems for tugs (the carrousel with
Multraship Towage & Salvage and the DOT system with Mampaey Offshore Industries)
and the SafeWinch, with Kraaijeveld Winches, which received the IMO 2008 Seatrade
Award in the category Safety at Sea.

Recent developments include the SaferVents system, together with SARC, and the new
electric V-POD propulsion, together with Verhaar Omega.

In addition to various developments, he is also involved as a technical expert in the

investigation of tug accidents.

ii

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 Foreword I
Ashok Mahapatra
Director, IMO Maritime Safety Division

I welcome the opportunity to write the foreword to this handbook on Tug Stability.

First, a few words about the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which is the
UN specialised agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the
protection of the marine environment. The Maritime Safety Committee is IMO’s technical
body on matters related to safety and security. In this context, the Committee is assisted
by a number of Sub-Committees, which carry out detailed technical work.

The Code on Intact Stability for All Types of Ships (IS Code) adopted by the IMO
includes fundamental principles, such as general precautions against capsizing, criteria
regarding metacentric height (GM) and righting lever (GZ); weather criteria (severe wind
and rolling); the effect of free surfaces and icing; and watertight integrity. The IS Code
also addresses related operational aspects and information for the master, including
stability and operating booklets and operational procedures in heavy weather.

The requirements prescribed in the IS Code apply to cargo ships, including tugs, over
500gt, and engaged on international voyages, and as such does not apply to harbour tugs.
At the same time, harbour tugs are essential for the safe operation of ships in ports and
at offshore terminals. Hence, safe operations of harbour tugs are essential for the safety
of ships operating in ports and at offshore terminals. Therefore, this book, which covers
a wide variety of tug types – from modern harbour tugs with their high manoeuvrability
and still increasing engine power to conventional tugs with their higher risk of capsizing
– is indeed a step in the right direction.

It explains that for all these tugs, stability is of major importance. Several factors,
including systems that can reduce the heeling angle that may influence stability during
tug operations, are addressed. It also focuses on practical aspects that a tug master has
to take into account to maintain positive stability. More importantly, the book addresses
many of the topics covered by the IS code, as applicable to tugs.

Tug masters operate their tugs in close proximity to larger ships, which always involves
risks. As high heeling forces are often experienced by a tug when towing or escorting a
ship, stability is critical for the safety of the tug and its crew.

It is commendable that the authors have taken the initiative to write this book using clear
photographs and diagrams, and in practical and instructive text, written in a language
that practical tug masters can understand.

The authors have produced an original and valuable training guide, which will increase
the knowledge of tug stability within the industry, and so enhance the safety of tugs, tug
crew and the ships they support. It is hoped that this increased knowledge will indeed
enhance safety and help to protect the marine environment.

iii

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 Foreword II
Captain Arie Nygh
Patron, ITA
In my capacity as Patron of the International Tugmasters Association (ITA) and
Managing Director of SeaWays Consultants I highly recommend Tug Stability. A
Practical Guide to Safe Operations and commend both Captain Henk Hensen and Dr
Markus Van Der Laan on this outstanding publication.

Some time ago Captain Henk and I discussed the requirement for an educational
reference stability book specifically for tugs – the focus being to have meaningful content
that is delivered in a manner readily understood by all tug masters, regardless of their
underpinning education, formal qualifications, nationality or operational backgrounds.

What Captain Henk and Dr Markus have produced far exceeds expectations and it is my
belief that this tug stability book will greatly contribute towards safer towage operations
by enhancing the working knowledge of tug masters. The ITA has long been of the
opinion that there needed to be a pragmatic reference book for tug stability, particularly
given the myriad towage operations tugs are called upon to undertake, often in the most
challenging of circumstances.

This sits well with the ethos of the ITA, whose very existence is to further the professional
development of tug masters throughout the world and to contribute to safer, more
effective and more efficient towage operations for the benefit of all stakeholders.

The ITA Executive believes Tug Stability is an important publication for all tug masters
and towage managers, no matter what facet of the towage industry they are engaged in.
As is the case with all of Captain Henk Hensen’s publications, I am confident this book
will become a ‘must have’ in any tug master’s or towage manager’s reference library.
Captain Arie Nygh FITA FNI
ITA Patron
www.tugmasters.org

Captain Arie Nygh is the Managing Director of SeaWays Consultants. On behalf of more than
40 towage companies, the SeaWays Group has trained more than 800 ASD/ATD/VSP/CTS
and RotorTug tugmasters worldwide, encompassing both live onboard training and training at
one of SeaWays’ four advanced Simulation Training Academies: www.seaways.net.au. Arie is
also an ambassador for CHIRP (Maritime), the UK Confidential Hazardous Incident Reporting
Programme: www.chirp.co.uk

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 Authors’ Preface
Numerous harbour tugs have capsized, often with tragic consequences. In the tug
capsizes known to have occurred in the five-year period 2010- 2015, more than 45 people
have drowned.

When a tug capsizes there are two important phases: first, the capsize and, next, the
flooding of the tug. If the tug capsizes only, the crew may be saved. However, if the
tug also floods with water there is little possibility for all crew members to abandon the
tug safely.

Therefore, two factors play a major role in any capsize. First is the tug’s design stability,
which should fully comply with the requirements applicable for that tug. Second, all
openings and doors, through which water can flow into the tug, should be closed during
towage operations.

Stability is a rather complicated matter and is mainly a specialism of naval architects.

Tug masters seldom have this specialism – and the same can often be said of managers
of towing companies and port authorities. However, tug masters experience the effects
of the tug’s stability every day when manoeuvring their tug, either free sailing or when
assisting ships.

There are varying tug stability requirements, depending on the vessel’s classification
society. Local governments and port authorities may also have their own stability
requirements. Although we still lack uniform stability requirements for harbour tugs,
good stability is nevertheless crucial for effective tug performance, for safe tug operations
and for the safety of tug crews.

When in action, several cross forces may work on a tug. These are caused by towline
forces, hydrodynamic forces, steering and propulsion forces – and often a tug is working
with these forces at or near their maximum with respect to its stability. Therefore it is
necessary for tug masters to have at least a basic idea of the elements of stability, where
the limits are, and what the consequences are if tug handling practices don’t conform to
the rules of stability in normal circumstances, and also when extreme conditions, such as
dense fog and storms, occur.

The increasing speeds at which ship assistance is provided becomes an important factor
because of the great influence it has on the dynamic stability of a tug. Many other factors
of influence will be mentioned in this book.

A tug’s stability is not a static condition but can change with every moment. Changes
in the amount of bunkers or stores, water on deck, slack tanks and ice accretion, all
complicate the stability situation. These factors will all be explained in the text of this
book. There is a possibility that these various factors could combine to affect stability in a
negative way and may even culminate in a very dangerous situation for the tug.

Harbour tugs that have capsized often sank so quickly that crew members could not
leave the tug in time and drowned. Several incidents such as these are mentioned in
the references. Among the many reasons are shortcomings in design and in equipment,

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 marginal stability, openings that should have been closed still left open, and also
carelessness and ignorance.

The Transport Safety Board of Canada concludes in its report on fishing vessels [1]:
“Unsafe practices are not carried out with the intention of jeopardising the safety of the
vessel and crew. Rather they are carried out by individuals who mean to operate their
vessels in a safe manner but who, for a number of reasons, do not fully appreciate the
risks associated with such practices.” This is true and applies equally to individuals in the
towage industry.

Although the foregoing applies to operations in general, a more specific example is that
of extreme conditions. In general, a tug master may have certain expectations about
extreme conditions. However, the problem is that extreme conditions do not occur
frequently and are seldom in line with the expectations held. Consequently, this easily
leads to underestimations, and to loss of safety margins when operations go beyond
the stability limits of their tug. The same may also be said when operating in unfamiliar
situations and conditions.

Therefore, the focus of this book will be on the practical aspects of stability, tug design
and equipment, and also on the consequences of unsafe procedures. Clearly, the
emphasis will be on harbour tugs, although several items that will be discussed apply to
seagoing tugs also.

Most items will be further clarified by simple drawings and photographs in order to
optimise the explanations.

It should be realised that in dealing with stability, so many factors play a role that it is
difficult to explain them all in detail. Therefore, some issues may be briefly discussed,
with the reader being referred to other publications that deal specifically with these
subjects. It may also be the case that certain subjects will be presented from more than
one point of view.

It is the authors’ wish that the lessons from this book will help to improve operational
safety and reduce the number of serious tug accidents.

vi

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 Glossary of Terms
Angle of down flooding: The heeling angle at which water will flow into the tug
through large engine room ventilation openings or any other
openings.
Note: Many tugs have a number of smaller openings, which
are not considered in down flooding, assuming that the tug
will quickly be upright again, before significant flooding occurs.
BHP (winch): Brake holding power of the winch, which applies to the first
layer on the winch drum.
Buoyancy: The ability of a vessel to stay afloat in a fluid.
Classification Society: The objective of ship classification is to verify the design,
production and operation of a ship and all of its components.
Classification societies aim to achieve this objective through
the development and application of their own rules. The main
classification societies are ABS (American Bureau of
Shipping), DNV GL (Det Norske Veritas - Germanischer
Lloyd), LR (Lloyd’s Register) and BV (Bureau Veritas).
IACS is the International Association of Classification
Societies.
COP: Centre Of hydrodynamic Pressure on the tug’s hull.
Course stability: Also called stability of route or dynamic stability of route
(see Saunders [8]). It is the characteristic of a ship (or tug) that
causes it, when disturbed, to damp out extraneous motions
set up by the disturbance and to reduce them progressively
to zero.
Course stability should not be confused with directional
stability, which is, strictly speaking, the ability of a ship
to follow a certain direction, e.g. by means of an automatic
steering system. A ship closely following a selected heading
has directionally stability, but may be course unstable, which
results in frequent and large rudder actions to hold the
ship on course.
Course stable ship: With a constant position of the steering system (rudders,
thrusters, etc) a ship is defined to be course stable if, after
experiencing a brief disturbance, it will resume the original
manoeuvre without any use of the means of steering.
Course stability on a straight course, with the rudder in the
equilibrium position, is mostly only considered. A turn
initiated by a brief disturbance of a course stable ship will
thus not continue. However, after the disturbance has
vanished, the actual course of the ship will generally
be altered.

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 A course stable ship needs relatively large rudder angles for
course changing.
A course stable ship has good yaw checking ability.
Course unstable ship: A ship is called course unstable if, after it is disturbed, it
immediately starts to turn.
Course changing with relatively high rates of turn can be
achieved with relatively small rudder angles. A course
unstable ship, therefore, generally has poor yaw checking
ability.
Dimensions: LOA: Length overall (in metres or feet).
Beam o a: Beam overall (in metres or feet)
Displacement: The weight of the volume of water displaced by a ship at a
certain draft in tonnes (metric tons).
DOT: Dynamic Oval Towing: a system whereby the towing point
travels along an oval ring around the tug’s superstructure.
Engine power: BHP: Brake Horse Power: horse power at the output shaft
of an engine, turbine, or motor.
HP: HP (metric horse power) = 75kgfm/sec = 0.735kW
kW: 1 kW = 1.36 HP
Girting: The risk of capsize, especially with conventional tugs but
also with ASD tugs operating over the stern, caused by high
athwartships towline forces. Also known as girding,
girthing and tripping.
GM: Metacentric height: the vertical distance between the centre
of gravity and the initial metacentre.
GK: Height of tug’s centre of gravity above keel.
GZ: Stability arm = righting arm.
Gob rope/gog line: An extra rope or steel wire used on conventional tugs to shift
the towing point further aft. It is connected to the main towing
line by a sliding shackle. There are two systems: a) a gob rope
of a fixed length of which the other end is secured, for
example to a side bollard, then passes through a fairlead or
small H-shaped bollard situated aft on the centre line of the
tug and then towards the main towline; b) the gob rope
comes from the main towline passing through a swivel
fairlead at the stern of the tug and then to a gob rope winch,
which is controlled by the tugmaster.
GT: Gross tonnage is based on the volume of all enclosed spaces.
Gross tonnage is calculated by measuring a ship’s volume
(from keel to funnel, to the outside of the hull framing) and
applying a mathematical formula.

viii

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 Heel-List-Roll: A vessel is said to heel when she is not upright as the result
of an external force. The forces required to make a turn will
also heel a vessel.
While heel results from external forces acting on a vessel,
list results from internal forces – such as badly distributed
load or flooding.
Roll is the tilting rotation of a vessel about its
longitudinal X-axis (front-back or bow-stern).
Heeling arm: The heeling arm for a certain loading condition is:
heeling moment
displacement for that loading condition
IMO: International Maritime Organization
MBL: Minimum Breaking Load of a wire or rope.
Propulsion: Azimuth thrusters: propellers in nozzles that can produce full
thrust in any horizontal direction.
CPP: Controllable Pitch Propeller.
FPP: Fixed Pitch Propeller.
Voith: Voith Schneider propeller: system with vertical
propeller blades.
Nozzle: A tube around a propeller to increase propeller
performance.
Omni-directional: Propulsion units, either Voith propulsion
units or azimuth thrusters, that can deliver full thrust in any
horizontal direction.
Sponson: Strongly flared section in the side of a tug, commencing at or
just below the waterline, which results in substantial increase
in deck area and reserve buoyancy without increasing the
beam at the waterline.
Towing point: The point of application of the towline force. It is that point
from which the towline goes in a straight line to the ship.
Tripping: When towing on a line, a tug swings around and comes
alongside the ship’s hull due to excessive ship speed in
relation to the tug’s capabilities and towing angle. The
expression ‘tripping’ is sometimes used for ‘girting’.
Tugs: ASD: Azimuth Stern Drive tug. A tug with azimuth thruster(s)
under the stern.
ATD: Azimuth Tractor Drive tug. A tug with azimuth thrusters
under the fore body.
Carrousel tug: A tug having a rail around the wheelhouse along which the
towing point can travel.
Combi-tug: Conventional tug with an azimuth (retractable) bow thruster.

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 Giano-tug: Tug with one azimuth thruster forward and one aft; both in
the centre line.
EDDY: Efficient Double-ended DYnamic tug.
RSD: Reverse Stern Drive tug. A tug that can operate as both an
ASD tug and a tractor tug.
Rotortug: A tug with three azimuth thrusters underneath the tug; two
forward and one aft.
SDM: Ship Docking Module. A tug with one azimuth thruster
forward and another aft; each thruster somewhat offset from
the tug’s centre line, one to port and the other to
starboard.
VS tug: Voith Schneider tug.

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