He said, 'Tugs are mobile assets that work in waters around the world, generally performing the same kinds of tasks regardless of geography. It stands to reason therefore that the same regulations and safety standards should apply to them regardless of where they operate, or in which country they were built. When a tug is bought and sold on the international market, owners often have to spend large amounts of money to prove compliance with a different set of rules to those under which it was constructed.

The current system defies all logic.'

His paper highlighted major differences between the five societies, the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Bureau Veritas (BV), Det Norske Veritas (DNV), Germanischer Lloyds (GM) and Lloyds Register of Shipping (LRS).

Among the many discrepancies listed were matters as diverse as hull construction, fire fighting, towing stability and voyage classification notation.

In towline requirements alone, inconsistencies in definition were pinpointed, especially in escort tugs, and differences of 50% were present in some figures as well as several unusual anomalies.

Mr Allan recognised that such a dramatic change as the 'single standard'mentioned would not occur overnight but suggested that, 'A framework could be planted on which we could all build.'

All five of the classification societies quoted are members of the International Association of Classification Societies and all five were represented on a panel formed specifically to comment on the paper. Each member of the panel unequivocally commended Mr Allan for his work and the detail contained within the material presented. But, the general consensus among the five members was that matters would be slow to change unless tug owners demanded change on the grounds of safety.

Comments from delegates confirmed the call for change on the grounds highlighted by the paper. They also stressed the need for simplification of standards historically conceived by the shipbuilding industry at large for ships of a far more general nature. Interestingly, public support among delegates in the hall was rather more muted that had been expected by many pundits, who saw this as an issue where real progress might be achieved using the ITS conventions as a platform. However, since concluding his presentation Robert Allan has been approached by many influential figures from all around the towage industry offering their support in the