Legal Definition and Related Resources of Towage

A service rendered to one vessel by another to expedite the voyage of the former by accelerating her progress, in the absence of any emergency , damage or danger to the former. Stevens v The White City, 285 U.S. 195, 52 S.Ct. 347, 76 L.Ed. 699. In a case where there is an impending danger of loss and injury to the ship requiring assistance, it will amount to salvage and not towage. The Olockson, (C.A. 5.)281 F. 690. The vessel rendering such service is generally known as a tug.

Browse or run a search for Towage in the American Encyclopedia of Law, the Asian Encyclopedia of Law, the European Encyclopedia of Law, the UK Encyclopedia of Law or the Latin American and Spanish Encyclopedia of Law.

Towage in Historical Law

You might be interested in the historical meaning of this term. Browse or search for Towage in Historical Law in the Encyclopedia of Law.

Search for legal acronyms and/or abbreviations containing Towage in the Legal Abbreviations and Acronyms Dictionary.

You might be also interested in these legal terms:

Towage in Maritime Law

Note: There is more information on maritime/admiralty law here.

The following is a definition of Towage, produced by Tetley, in the context of admiralty law: [Translation of Towage in French: “remorquage”] [Translation of Towage in Spanish: “remolque”] [Translation of Towage in Italian: “rimorchio”] [Translation of Towage in German: “Schleppen”] is a contract whereby one ship moves another. Towage, as opposed to salvage (see this maritime law term in this legal dictionary), is a service contract, which does not involve a marine peril, and the consideration is an hourly or daily rate or a lump sum, rather than a salvage reward (see this maritime law term in this legal dictionary) based on the peril, the work accomplished and the value of the object salved. There are various standard-form towage contracts, including, for example, the “International Ocean Towage Agreement (Lump Sum)” (Code Name: “TOWCON”) and the “International Ocean Towage Agreement (Daily Hire)” (Code Name: “TOWHIRE”) of BIMCO (see this maritime law term in this legal dictionary). See Tetley, Int’l M. & A. L., 2003 at p. 186. See also dominant mind (see this maritime law term in this legal dictionary).

Towage in Admiralty Law

For information on towage in this context, see the entry on towage in the maritime law encyclopedia.

Towage