- Central Command for Maritime Emergencies - Joint Institution of the German Federal and Coastal States Governments

The German Emergency Towing Strategy Cpt. Ulf Bustorff History • 1980 Already the report on expert examination of the proposed „measures for the response to marine oil pollution“ calls for the presence of emergency response vessels in German coastal waters • 1982 After negotiations with German salvage companies the partners of the Administrative Agreement on the Response to Marine Oil Pollution decide to equip the planned newbuilding multi purpose vessel MELLUM with professional emergency towing capability • 1984 With MELLUM the first German emergency towing multi purpose vessel is being commissioned. The vessel performes first emergency towing exercises with navy tankers • 1993 Tanker Braer strands on rocks at Shetland • isles and discharges her complete cargo of crude oil. Consequently the German equipment exercise program is supplemented by exercising the towage of chartered VLCCs • 1995 The Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSA ) charters cable layer “Manta“ with 86 t bollard pull as additional emergency towing vessel for the • 1996 Tanker Sea Empress touches rocks in the entrance to Milford Haven and discharges major parts of her oil cargo to the sea • 1996 WSA charters salvage tug Oceanic as emergency towing vessel instead of Manta. Oceanic provides 165 t bollard pull • 1998 WSA Multi purpose newbuilding with 113 t bollard pull is commissioned for the North Sea History

• 1998 Drifting and abandoned timber freighter Pallas strands on fire in front of the isle of following several days of towage under severe weather conditions

• 1999 The report of the Grobecker- Commission is published investigating causes of the incident and recommending organisational and other improvements

• 2000 Federal Ministry of transport installs a project group Maritime Emergency Response in which among other items a special working group (TPG 1 ) elaborates proposals for a national emergency towing strategy • • 2001 TPG 1 presents its concept and WSA begins its realisation

• 2002 Multi purpose vessel SCHARHÖRN receives professional ETV equipment for 40 t bollard pull and adds to the chartered ETV capacity in the Baltic Sea

• 2002 The German Emergency Towing Concept North Sea providing three ETVs and Baltic Sea providing 5 ETVs is in place

• 2002 The equipment exercise and simulation exercise program is intensified

• 2004 Multi purpose newbuilding ARKONA with 48 t bollard pull adds to the ETV-capacity in the Baltic German requirements for ETVs

• Permanent readiness fully staffed • Coverage of main risk areas ( major shipping routes in North and Baltic Sea ) • Development of special emergency towing strategies • Recognition of environmental conditions • Provision of „Boarding Teams“ ( Special teams for operations and assistance on board the casualty ) • Engine power and bollard pull variable according to circumstances • Propulsion system proving excellent manoeuvrability at slow speed and under tow • Variable draft, high cruising speed and endurance at sea • Excellent bad weather characteristics including highest possible speed • Sufficient work deck space, loading and ballast water capacity, winching space for helicopters • Overpressure ventilation, advanced gas measuring device • Special fire fighting and protection capabilities What exactly means Emergency Towing?

Emergency towing means:

Estblishment of a towing connection to a casualty keeping a casualty steady on position or control her drift until she regains manoeuvrability, has been safely anchored or berthed, a contracted salvage company has taken over or the existing threat to marine traffic or the coastline could have been averted somehow. German ETVs in the North Sea

Positions ( bollard pull/speed )

1 Neuwerk 110 t / 16,5 kn

2 Mellum 100 t / 16 kn

3 Oceanic 180 t / 17 kn 1 4 Waker* 138 t / 15 kn (NLCG) 2 3 *Waker is a 4 Dutch ETV with which a co- operation contract exists ETVs North Sea

Multi purpose vessel MPS Neuwerk

Salvage tug Oceanic

Multi purpose vessel MPS Mellum Contractual Agreement with the

Netherlands Coast Guard

• and the have signed

an agreement on the principle of mutual

assistance on request in cases of

deficiencies with emergency towing capacity

of the contractors.

• In such a case the requested ETV

sails to a defined position of readiness in

order to on request haul to the respective

emergency position

• Annual joint exercises are agreed.

• Regulations for responsibility and cost

coverages are defined. German ETVs in the Baltic Sea

Positions ( bollard pull/velocity )

1 Bülk 40 t / 13,5 kn

2 Scharhörn 40 t / 13,2 kn

3 Fairplay 26 65 t / 13,5 kn 1 4 5 2 4 Arkona 41 t / 13,1 kn

5 Fairplay 25 65 t / 13,5 kn 3 ETVs in the Baltic Sea

tugs Fairplay 25 und 26 Multi purpose vessel MPS Arkona

Tug Bülk Multi purpose vessel MPS Scharhörn Projected Emergency Towing Capacity

Long term charter of powerful ETVs

• At present 1 ETV for the Bnorth Sea and 1 ETV for the Baltic Sea are to be tendered • Following the result of „request for the expression of interest“ decisions were taken • In accordance with the slightly updated requirements of the recommendations of the TPG 1 a bidder should offer a proposal for both areas and an intermediate solution for ETV-capacity during the building period • Basis of the charter should be a long term contract with a duration period of 8 years

North Sea basic requirements Baltic Sea basic requirements • cruising speed 19,5 kn • Cruising speed 17,5 kn • bollard pull <160 t • bollard pull <80 t

• draught max 6 m • draught max 6 m

• 4 men boarding team • 4 men Boarding Team Exercise program for the provision of a high standard of readiness

Training and Exercises

• During joint exercises chartered ETVs and MPSes train their performance with the onboard systems and in towing exercises with each other and with real towing objects (in total appr. 50 exercises/a )Laden or ballast charter of typical vessels sailing in German waters enables exercising until seastate Beaufort 7-8

• In exercises close co-operation between CCME, private companies and the navy is an important provision.

• Germany looks forward to expand co-operation in the field of emergency towing within the existing northwestern and northeastern regional and subregional structures Simulation of Emergency Towing Manoeuvres

Simulator training • Aside equipment exercises ship handling simulation is • an important tool for frequent education and training of ship handling personnel. All relevant data of ETVs and types of typical vessels to be towed are compiled and computed in order to simulate the individual manoeuvring characteristics as well as virtual data for hydrodynamical processes at the vessel/environment interface, meteorological and tidal data, sea state etc. This is necessary to provide understanding of the navigators for mathematical and physical interrelations during the manoeuvres with different types of tugs and towed vessels. Simulation exercises give in addition the opportunity to replay real operational conditions and plan operations under assumed conditions. • The pre-selected vessel types ( tanker, bulkcarrier, container vessels, RoRo vessels, large ferries ) are chosen because of the problems that they can create under tow. • Ship handling personnel have very positivly reacted to the since 2 years offered simulation training programs. • The extension ot the program is planned. ExamplesExamplesof of towingtowing exercisesexercises Combination of Emergency Towing and Marine Pollution Response exercises Multi Purpose Tasking of the MPS in North and Baltic Sea Emergency Towing in North and Baltic Sea

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