Case Study – Tug boat receipts in Turkish ports: Salvage claimed by Tug boat assisting.

• Container vessel dragged anchor onto a general cargo vessel with was anchored at a distance of 3.2 cables.
• Container vessel’ starboard quarter came in contact with general cargo vessel Bow area. Container vessel master contacted VTS for assistance with tug & pilot.
• Tug arrived on scene and started pushing the container vessel from starboard side.
• Whilst the authorities were on board the tug representative asked Master to sign the tug receipt for the service provided by the tug boat, which was signed by the Master without informing or consulting with the managers, owners or insurers.
• As Vessel re-anchored after couple of hours as the weather subsidised, the tug boat was released.
• After 10 days, an arrest order was received by the container vessel from authorities due to a salvage service claim made by Tug company, who was called upon by the Master to assist via VTS.
• Follow up done with Owners, Underwriters, appointed lawyers and authorities to clear the vessel.
• After negotiations with the Tug Company, vessel release orders were given, but vessel owners had to pay huge sum as Tug has declared the service as Salvage.
• The tug receipt signed by the master was in Turkish and it has written service as salvage.

FINDINGS FROM THE CASE

• Master signed the salvage form given by Tugboat, which had mentioned “Salvage Service”. The Master should have informed the office before signing documents after incident. Imperative to say master should not have signed the document whose content he was unaware of.
• The Master has the authority to accept and sign Lloyd’s Standard Form of Salvage in case of imminent danger. Assistance should never be delayed merely to negotiate a particular form of agreement or contract terms.
• In most cases, where time and circumstances permit, the owners together with the Master will agree with the salvors to the terms on which the salvage services will be rendered with the authority of other parties with interests in the vessel who will benefit from the salvage services. Therefore, in the event salvage services are required, it is important that the Master informs managers /owners as soon as a casualty occurs to prevent salvage services becoming more urgent and consequently more expensive.
• However, in cases of absolute urgency, the Master himself may negotiate the terms of the salvage agreement with the salvors, subject to the owners’ standing instructions.
• It must be stressed that the Master only has authority to reach an agreement in cases where the vessel and the cargo on board are in imminent danger and there is no reasonable opportunity to contact owners and cargo owners and any other party with an interest in the vessel who will benefit from the salvage services in order to obtain their authority.