Updated Guide is the latest National Workboat Association (NWA) initiative to support the towage sector by promoting ‘best practice’ and tackling safety challenges
2nd July 2018 –The National Workboat Association (NWA), the safety standards, skills and trade association for the workboat industry, has launched an updated version of its Use of Workboats for Towage: Good Practice Guide, including an extensive new annex on vessel stability.
To enquire about purchasing a copy of the Guide, please email Mark Ranson at secretary@workboatassociation.org
Together, the Good Practice Guide and Stability Annex provide comprehensive advice and recommendations for the safe operation of tugs, refined and enhanced on the basis of feedback from towage operators throughout the UK and Europe.
The original Good Practice Guide was developed by the NWA in 2016, in the wake of a number of towage incidents compromising both the safety of personnel and the integrity of the sector.
While targeting the main workboat towage areas, including the towage of non-propelled barges and other objects on coastal towage voyages, some of the guidelines also apply to site towage and ‘ship assist’ port towage operations. However, more specialised guidance should be sought to accompany this. Further editions of the Guide may include more ship assist guidance, with input from other practitioners.
The updated version of the Good Practice Guide includes additional guidance on the safe use of gog ropes to prevent girting – recognising the lack of clear guidance available on this topic. While a rare occurrence, incidents of girting – or capsize – continue to pose a significant challenge to the safe completion of towage operations, threatening human life and leaving tug operators vulnerable to financial and reputational damage.
A second new addition to the Good Practice Guide is the Stability Annex, developed in collaboration with Captain Gareth Bonner from SMS Towage, which is designed to help Tug Masters interpret the stability books on-board individual vessels. This extensive addition covers the basic principles of stability and defines regularly used terminology found in stability documentation on workboats, helping to prevent any lack of clarity that could pose a risk to the safe operation of tugs.
The Good Practice Guide, including its Annexes, is a live document and will undergo continuous updates to ensure that the guidance contained within it evolves with the towage market.
Mark Ranson, Secretary, NWA, said: “We’ve been working on this revised Guide for a while, so I’m very pleased to now make it available to members and the wider market. The workboat industry is a fast-moving one, and legislation and advice must evolve to keep up with it – so we’re pleased to offer this updated version with additional recommendations tailored to today’s towage market.”
“We welcome any feedback on this edition, and we will seek a wider consultation with other sections of the towage industry when the time comes for version three!”
The updated Guide is the latest in a series of NWA initiatives aimed at combating safety challenges in the towage sector, including regularly hosted Safety Forums and our active participation in the MCA’s Voluntary Towage Endorsement Scheme. This scheme, developed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) with the towage industry, is the first of its kind in the world to independently assess and certify a Tug Master’s practical competence – and the NWA has issued over 170 endorsements to more than 120 candidates over the last four years.
The NWA will be in attendance at Seawork 2017 in Southampton, from 3rd-5th July – and invite all interested parties to stop by their stand, PB127, to see a copy of the Guide and find out more. The Towage Good Practice Guide will be distributed to all NWA members, and non-members can enquire about purchasing a copy at: secretary@workboatassociation.com
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About the National Workboat Association
The National Workboat Association (NWA) is the safety standards, skills and trade association for the workboat industry.
Since its inception in 1994, the NWA has acted as a crucial point of liaison between its membership and key regulatory and industry bodies, such as the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). It has also driven the creation of safety, technical and best practice standards, provided a unifying platform for industry lobbying and debate, and delivered industry-recognised training and certification opportunities.
Core achievements include the introduction and subsequent revision of the MCA Code of Practice for the Safe Operation of Small Workboats – the “Workboat Code” – which acts as the recognised Technical Standard for UK workboats and has formed the basis for numerous international codes.
The NWA has a membership base of over 80 UK and European workboat owners and operators, collectively representing over 550 operational vessels.
To find out more about the NWA, visit the website at: https://www.workboatassociation.org/
2018-07-02 09:00:00.0