201730 Tug tug-of-war

The vessel was departing and the line had been passed to the forward tug. As the tug moved away from the vessel the tug operator asked the vessel to ‘Slack - slack’ the line. Then, still moving away, the tug operator instructed to ‘make fast’. All communications between the tugs and the pilot were in the local language, a language not understood by ship’s crew.

Lessons learned
- Making fast the tug line while the tug is moving away is a dangerous practice.
- When possible, a common language should be used between tug operators, pilots and crew when berthing or departing.