We’ve all seen the emergency towing booklet onboard a merchant vessel. Owing to its importance and the risks that are involved with it, an amendment was made to the SOLAS Convention Chapter II stating that all passenger and cargo ships built on or before 1st January 2010 (cargo sips built before 1st January 2010 to have one not later than 1st January 2012) were to be provided with a ship-specific emergency towing procedure. A detailed read of the amendment gives the ship officer a solid idea of the risks involved and ways to avert them.
我们都见过商船上的紧急拖拽手册。鉴于其重要性和所涉风险，对《海上人命安全公约》第二章作出了一项修正案，规定在2010年1月1日或之前建造的所有客船和货船(2010年1月1日之前建造的货轮不迟于2012年1月1日)均应具备针对船舶的紧急拖曳程序。对修正案的详细阅读使船长对所涉及的风险和避免风险的方法有一个明确的认识。
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So let us see the 10 important points that must be kept in mind in order to execute the procedure efficiently：
因此，让我们看看为了有效地执行程序必须牢记的10个要点：
1、安全 Safety
Safety is the first and foremost aspect while carrying out any and every duty on ship. Specifically speaking in this regard, the Chief Mate must be in contact with the Bridge at all times. All LSA/PPE must be donned and the crew must be pressed to follow safety guidelines at every step. Ropes/wires under tension can be disastrous and hence the crew must step aside to the safe zone when the same happens. It’s always better to have the minimum required number of people on deck at the time to avoid commotion and confusion.
在船舶上履行任何职责时，安全是首要的。具体而言，大副必须始终与驾驶台保持联系。必须穿戴所有LSA/PPE，并且必须督促船员在每一步都遵守安全指南。绷紧的绳索/钢丝可能会造成灾难性后果，因此，当发生同样情况时，船员必须退到安全区。为了避免混乱，最好在甲板上安排最少的人员。
2、灯光和信号 Lights and Signals
The towed ship must comply with the Rules of the Road and display relevant lights and signals. Their functionality must be checked before they are due to be operated. It’s important to avoid putting vessels in the vicinity at risk (thereby, avoiding the same to own vessel).
被拖船舶必须遵守航道规则，并显示相关灯光和信号。在进行操作之前，必须必须检查其功能。重要的是要避免将附近的船只置于危险之中（从而避免对自己的船只造成同样的危险）。
3、吃 水 Draught
The vessel must have draught suited to her needs through the duration of the voyage. It’s very important to consult relevant authorities about the characteristics of the water body to prevent unnecessary events such as grounding.
船舶在整个航程中必须有适合其需要的吃水。咨询有关部门关于水体特性的意见非常重要，以防止不必要的事件，如搁浅。
4、水密性 Watertightness
Prior to the voyage, the watertight integrity of the various openings must be checked. Hatches, portholes, valves etc. must be checked to ensure that they’re in place for the duration of the voyage.
在航行前，必须检查各开口的水密完整性。必须检查舱口、舷窗、阀门等，以确保它们在航行期间都安装到位。
5、安全布置 Securing Arrangements
Securing arrangements for the cargo, stores, galley etc. must be exercised prior to the voyage to prevent unwanted collateral damage within the vessel.
必须在航行前对货物、物料、厨房等进行安全的布置安排，以防止船内不必要的附带损害。
6、稳定性 Stability
Perhaps the most important of them all is- stability. Towed vessel should have sufficient stability with respect to all the conditions (loaded or ballast) that are to come about during the course of the voyage.
也许其中最重要的是稳定性。在航行过程中，被拖船舶应具有足够的稳定性，以应对所有可能出现的情况（装载或压载）。
7、舵/螺旋桨 Rudder/Propellor
As and when deemed necessary, the rudder is best kept amidships. Along with that, the engine room must be informed well in advance to keep the propeller shaft from turning.
如有必要，舵最好保持在船中。与此同时，必须提前通知机舱，以防止传动轴转动。
8、船舶资料 Ship’s Particulars
A fully detailed data sheet of the ship’s particulars must be kept at hand before the initiation of the voyage. This includes information to the last details; anything that might come in handy to maintain the safety of the vessel and the personnel involved in the procedure.
开航前，必须备有详细的船舶资料表。这包括最新的详细信息；以及为维护船舶和程序所涉及人员的安全而可能派上用场的任何东西。
9、海 况 Sea State
The state of the sea is crucial to the degree of smoothness with respect to the voyage. Information must be obtained to the closest accuracy about the expected state of weather and sea, well prior to the voyage. All references such as VTS, via VHF communication with coast stations, Admiralty Publications, bespoke ship software etc. must be used to obtain specific information about the same.
海况对航行的平稳程度至关重要。在航行之前，必须尽可能准确地获取有关预期天气和海况的信息。必须使用所有参考资料，如VTS，通过与海岸站的VHF通信、海军出版物、定制船舶软件等，以获取有关这些信息的具体信息。
10、应急拖曳手册 The Emergency Towing Booklet
The emergency towing booklet, which contains information pertinent to towing, must be kept handy and conspicuous before and throughout the procedure. Although the booklet can only serve a purpose that is more suggestive than coercive, it must be referred to as it has ship specific information with the appropriate drawings and other towing arrangements.
紧急牵引手册包含与牵引相关的信息，在拖曳前以及整个过程中，必须放在手边和显眼的地方。尽管小册子只能用于更具建议性而非强制性的目的，但必须提及它，因为它包含船舶特定的信息，以及适当的图纸和其他拖曳安排。
Not every vessel has state of the art equipment to conduct the procedure to maximum precision. Limitations might be in place but that shouldn’t be a deterring factor in predetermining the level of accomplishment. Not to forget, the safe working loads of all fittings must be adhered to at all times. A sudden jerk or backlash can result in a lot of damage to property. One of the foremost things that should not be forgotten is that the any emergency situation during the entire process of towing barely leaves time for corrective action. Therefore, it is imperative to adhere standard operational procedure, keeping in mind the individual aspects and therefore, individual capacity of every vessel. The crew must be thorough with the entire procedure, wherein they are clearly and candidly designated each task to avoid any confusion. Evaluations must be put in place in advance to the expected time of towing. Since towing is part of the ISM code, one must understand that, in any case, safety is always of paramount importance.
并不是每艘船舶都有最先进的设备来最大限度地执行该程序。可能存在一些限制，但这不应成为预先确定成就水平的阻碍因素。不要忘记，必须始终遵守所有配件的安全工作负载。突然的颠簸或反冲会导致大量财产损失。不应忘记的最重要的事情之一是，在整个牵引过程中，任何紧急情况都几乎没有时间采取纠正措施。因此，必须遵守标准操作程序，同时考虑到每个船舶的各个方面，从而考虑到每个船舶的特别情况。机组人员必须全面执行整个程序，明确、坦率地指定每个任务，以避免任何混淆。必须在预期牵引时间之前进行评估。由于牵引是ISM规范的一部分，因此必须明白，在任何情况下，安全始终是最重要的。
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