The world's largest dry cargo, container ships, and product ,chemical, LPG & LNG tankers frequently appear in our inland waters as a result of our nation's export and import figures, which are rising steadily each year, along with the rise in the number of vessels visiting Turkish ports and the total turn-out tonnage of those vessels.

Along with the growing vessel tonnages, this phenomenon has increased the importance of tugboat use in the context of shiphandling safety and as a result, the types and characteristics of tugboats  compared to the past experiences and the procedures with which these services can be rendered more competently have started to be more of an  agenda and widely analysed and discussed in maritime circles.                   

In the eyes of the maritime pilots who perform the port and canal maneuvers of these vessels, the front line of the tugboat services is, of course, the tugboat captains and other related staff who execute a difficult duty selflessly in all Turkish ports.

A safe shiphandling practice  depends to a great extent on the empathy and communication between tugboat captains and maritime pilots. In other words, empathy and communication between them are sines qua non of a safe shiphandling practice.

In this article, I'll briefly attempt to summarize the procedures involving tugboat captains who are indispensable and the most important part of the tugboat services in Turkey and all around the world.

Becoming a Tugboat Captain Abroad :

In different countries of the world, there are different procedures, different approaches. In countries like America, tugboat captains must obtain a specific license in order to get employed (Tugboat Captain License).

The USCG's (United States Coast Guard) Tugboat Captain License examination has the following prerequisites:

To have spent at least 540 days working as a seafarer on the tugboat. But at least 90 days of service on a single route must be part of that.

Complete submission of all required STCW documents

Have a valid seaman’s book (Merchant Marine License Documentation (MMLD)) . That MMLD must also have a "Y" designation, meaning the candidate has recently passed a Safety and Security Evaluation Branch ( SSEB ). However, this document must have the notation Y on it indicating that it has passed the safety and security assessment.

Applicants must be at least 21 years of age and have passed a medical check-up and tests showing that they do not have any drug or illegal drug addiction by at least six months.

Applicants who meet the requirements written above must attend a special training at authorized training centers and the course curricilum  is defined by the USCG ( United States Coast Guard-Tugboat Licence Training Course)

The evaluation exam  (Tugboat Captain License)  is taken by candidates who successfully complete this course in order to obtain their tugboat captain license (Towing Officer Assessment Record ( TOAR ) exam).

If they successfully pass this assessment exam, they will receive their Tugboat Captain License.

However, if the tugboats they will serve are over 200 GT, there are a number of additional requirements and trainings that they must fulfill depending  on the particular  state legislation.

Although the requirements for obtaining such a license are quite challenging, tugboat captains in the USA and Canada are paid very well in comparison to other professions in these countries because it is thought that they are among the most vitally important occupational groups in terms of life, property, and environmental safety.

A qualified tugboat captain in the United States is entitled to an average yearly salary of $101,840, despite the fact that state standards differ. Between $62,000 and $151,000 is the salary range for tugboat captains in the United States. The average annual salary for a tugboat captain in Germany, is 66,870 euros.

A 360-degree tugboat simulator

As an example from Europe, the qualification standards of tugboat captains and officers in the United Kingdom are determined by the rules described in the Maritime & Coast Guard Agency's MGN 495 M + F.

The requirements set forth in this document are also similar in many aspects to the legislation in the United States and Canada, with a few exceptions. Having served on a tugboat for at least six months within the previous five years is a requirement for all certifications needed to work on a tugboat, from the ordinary seaman to the captain (Certificate of Competency - Coc). However, if the special trainings related to tugboat personnel, specified in the annex of the said document MGN 495 M + F / Annex B (Example: Annex B Control Tugboat Operations Unit 44) are received and certified, this mandatory period of six months is reduced to two months. If the required sea service is not performed on the tugboat, this period must be doubled, that is, at least one year.

In addition, similar to the one in the United States:

Having completed all necessary STCW documentations or trainings approved by the MCA (Maritime & Coast Guard Agency) in the UK,

Have passed a health check-up in the United Kingdom, known as  ENG 1 for seafarers.

GMDSS training and certification for the candidates of tugboat officers.

However, there are different transition periods in intermediate promotional levels:

For example, while working as a tugboat officer, at least 12 months of tugboat service is required to apply for the position of port & shore tugboat captain under 500 GT and at least 24 months of tugboat service is required in order to become a tugboat captain of any port & coastal area under 3000 GT.

For those who will obtain a  license for the first time and for intermediate promotions, the MCA will set aside the day for the oral examination and after all these conditions are met, the exam is held. Candidates who are successful in the end of oral exam receive their  license.

With a few minor exceptions, the aforementioned procedures are also in place in Japan, Australia, and other developed European nations.

Tugboat simulator of belonging to Dutch tug company Kotug

Requirements for tugboat captains in Turkey

It is sufficient to have a limited captain's license to serve as a captain on tugboats under 500 GT in Turkey. In order to serve as a captain on tugboats between 500 GT and 3000 GT, it is necessary to have a limited ocean-going captain's license defined between these two tonnages.

Our local legislation has started to feel the need to make some positive changes before it's too late in order to reach a more desirable level and to enhance the quality of the service. This is due to the regulations we've previously mentioned, some of which are already in use in other countries, the increasing vessel traffic concurrent with the increasing export and import capacity, taking into account the growing vessel sizes, and the maneuvering safety criteria.

Let’s briefly summarize the current practice in Turkey to the practices in other countries :

Assuming that the profession is entered right from the beginning, the time required to be spent at sea to get the limited captain's license is actually fairly sufficient, although there is a major difference in quality compared to the practices in other countries:

The requirements  required to be a tugboat captain under Regulation (2022) for Seafarers and Maritime Pilots, which governs these matters, do not include a requirement for tugboat duty.

This problem can be seen as a serious unaddressed shortcoming in the current legislation.

The nature of the service provided aboard tugboats, the safety aspect, and the inherent risks of the operation, however, set it apart from other marine services in a number of distinctive ways.

In this regard, candidates who will receive a limited captain's license, particularly the captain of a tugboat, may be subject to additional conditions governed by legislation,

such as serving as an officer on tugboats for a set period of time or the obligation to do internship for a set period of time.

To serve as a captain on tugboats under or above 500 GT, there is no training program in place in Turkey ,which is determined by the fundamental requirements, traits, and practice of the profession. Given the nature of the work, it would be a positive enhancement if the legislation required candidates to attend a training session on simulation-supported tugboat services for at least one week, with or without an assessment.

The requirement of an in-service periodic training, say every two years, for active tugboat captains working on tugs below 500 GT or above, is not included in our legislation .

However, in the countries we have discussed above, very detailed practices are in force in this regard. In fact, these courses are taught by professional training organizations supported by simulators that, in some nations, use curriculum specifically designed for this particular service.

The professional training of tugboat captains covers a variety of topics, including emergency situations that may not occur frequently, tugboat service in adverse weather conditions, being able to assist vessels at various speeds appropriately and safely, vessel tugboat hydrodynamic interactions, new tugboat types and their particular features, safety limits, safe service standards in growing vessel tonnages, etc. Additionally, virtual reality maneuvering is taught to tugboat captains. As a reflex, one develops the capacity to respond in the most precise way to potentially harmful situations that may arise during the service. It would be reasonable to implement a comparable training program for active tugboat captains within a specific time limit and include it in the legislation.

An additional article will cover the suggested curriculum of the  the proposed Basic Tugboat Services Training Module and the In-Service Training Module of active tugboat captains .