Two Distinct Institutions — Towage and Salvage
In the Maritime Code, towage and salvage are located in different chapters and governed by different regimes, yet in practice they often intersect. Towage denotes a planned service resting on a contract, while a salvage operation is any act rendered in any waters to assist persons, a vessel or other property in danger. The rules on salvage extend also to a ship sailing under the Georgian naval ensign. Where a service is formalised by a towage contract, the towage norms apply to it; where an act is performed under conditions of danger, it may fall within the salvage regime instead.
The Towage Contract — Form and Mandatory Content
Under the contract of maritime towage, the owner of a vessel, for remuneration, assumes the obligation to tow a vessel or other floating object from one port to another, to tow a vessel or other floating object for a defined period of time or over a defined distance, or, where necessary, to carry out manoeuvring or standby service. The type of the contract is thus determined by its object — carriage between ports, time or distance towage, or a one-off manoeuvring operation.
The contract must be concluded in writing, and the law prescribes its mandatory content: it must indicate the ports of dispatch and destination, the time of towage, the rights and duties of the parties, liability for breach of the contract, the characteristics of the towed objects which may affect the safety of the towage, and other circumstances which the parties consider it necessary to record. The written form and the full reflection of these particulars are decisive in a dispute — in maritime conditions, the agreed position of the parties can be reconstructed only from a complete document.
Allocation of Damage During Towage
Where, during towage, damage is caused to the towed vessel or other floating object, to property on them or to cargo, and the towed vessel is steered by the captain of the towing vessel, liability rests with the owner of the towing vessel, unless a different agreement exists between the parties and unless the owner proves its innocence. Furthermore, the owner of the towing vessel bears no liability for such damage where the towage takes place in ice conditions and it is not proved that the damage was caused by the towing vessel.
The period of liability is also precisely defined: the owner of the towing vessel is liable from the moment the vessel or other floating object is taken under tow at the initial point, and is released when the towed vessel or object is placed at the berth of the final point of the towage or brought to anchor. In other words, damage inflicted outside that time frame no longer falls under the liability provided by the towage contract.