As a result of incidents involving drifting ships that caused significant pollution, the State Towing Emergency Response System was established in 2003. The Norwegian Coastal Administration administers it, and the Coast Guard has had operational responsibility since 2020. Vardø Traffic Center (NOR VTS) monitors ship traffic along the coast. They register over 150 drifting ships annually – some of which drift towards the coast and need assistance to avoid grounding and pollution.
The project addresses challenges connecting a towline between the drifting ship and a tugboat. An upcoming International Maritime Organisation (IMO) requirement that all larger ships (> 20,000 GT) must have an emergency towing arrangement provides the Norwegian maritime industry with a new business opportunity.
Based on the collection of experience from completed emergency tows and visits to ships, the project will design emergency towing arrangements for larger cruise ships, large bulk carriers and future larger deep-sea autonomous vessels.
Since 2010, SINTEF Ocean has collaborated with the Norwegian Coastal Administration and the Coast Guard on both the design of a competency plan for personnel on vessels that carry out emergency towing operations and simulation tools for drifting ships.
In this project, SINTEF Ocean is conducting a survey of the status of emergency towing documentation, specific training and on-board training with relevant equipment for coupling an emergency tow under demanding weather conditions. In addition, drift track and towline models will be further developed through adaptation to the vessel types prioritised in the project.
