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TOW LINE LOADING

of ships mooring fittings
By Brenton Winn – Brisbane Marine Pilots
Have you ever wondered about the loads imparted on a
ship and its fittings by a tow line? What is the maximum
load that can be applied? How does this relate to SWL?
done to determine the actual towing load that may be
required to safely manoeuvre the vessel - the SWL for
mooring is usually considered sufficient by default.

The marked Safe Working Load (SWL) on fairleads and bitts

represents the maximum mooring load that can be applied. 3) Bitt Loading – Mooring
However the loading of the bitts during towing is quite
different to the loading for mooring due to different When securing a mooring line to a set of bitts, the line is
methods of attaching the line to the bitts - mooring (figure- belayed figure-of-eight. The SWL of bitts is defined as the
of-eight) vs towing (single eye) maximum load that can be placed on a line attached in
this manner.
In fact loads in excess of SWL can be applied to a line
attached by a single eye without damaging the bitts. The By taking turns around the bitt posts the force imposed on
ability to apply this load will be limited by the strength of each post is twice the load on the line. (Diag 1) The design
foundation structures, SWL of other fittings (ie fairleads) load of the bitts is 2 x SWL to withstand this load. For
and breaking strain of the line. example, if the SWL of the bitts is 32T we can safely apply a
load of 32T to a line belayed figure-of-eight - the resultant
force on each post will be 64T.
1) Mooring / Towing System
The mooring or towing system consists of the following
elements;
• Mooring or towing line
• Fairlead (and foundation structure)
• Bitts (and foundation structure)

When considering loads on the system, the maximum load

that can safely be applied will be limited to the weakest
part of the system.

2) How is SWL of fittings determined?

Class requires that ship fittings and their foundation
structures are designed to withstand the loads imposed by
mooring and tow lines.
4) Bitt Loading – Towing
During a vessel’s design phase the Classification Society
considers factors such as vessel displacement, length and When a tow-line is attached to a set of bitts it is usual to
breadth, freeboard and profile area (windage) – to pass a single eye directly over one post. The load on the
calculate an Equipment Number (EN) for the vessel. The line now acts directly on the post and the load on the
EN is used to determine, amongst other things, the post is equal to the load on the line (Diag 2).
minimum number, length and breaking strength (MBL) of
mooring lines required. The SWL of mooring fittings (bitts If we apply 32T to a tow line attached by a single eye, the
and fairleads) must exceed the MBL of the mooring lines load on the post will also be 32T.
provided, and the foundation structure (attachment of
the fittings to the deck) must be stronger again. The
mooring line is designed to be the weakest part of the
mooring system.

The SWL is the maximum load on a line attached to or

passing around the fitting for mooring. For bitts the line is
secured by belaying figure-of-eight.

Fittings are also required to withstand the “intended

maximum towing load as indicated on the towing and
mooring arrangements plan”. No separate calculation is

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TOW LINE LOADING OF SHIPS MOORING FITTINGS continued.

Remembering that the design load of the bitt post is 2 x
SWL, in this case 64T, it would be possible to apply a load
on the tow line of 64T without exceeding the design load
of the bitts. We must, however, consider the strength of
other parts of system.
on lead to the associated bitts (hence the angles marked
on Mooring Arrangement Plans).
OCIMF Guidelines for tankers recommend a minimum
design load of 2 x SWL, assuming a maximum wrap angle.

5) Foundation Structure Loading

Fittings (bitts and fairleads) are not an integral part of
the vessel and must be attached to the ship structure.
Fittings are manufactured and type tested to various
national and international standards before supply to the
vessel during construction. Their foundation structure
must be sufficient to meet loads imposed by a line
attached to or passing through the fitting.

The load on a line secured to a set of bitts is passed to

the supporting hull structure, regardless of the method of
attachment of the line to the bitts. To visualise this,
consider the bitts as a box mounted on the deck. The
external load applied by the mooring / towing line is
trying to drag the box across the deck. The load is
transferred through the box to the underlying structure.
The load on the foundation structure is equal to the load
on the line, with the load path being through the bitts
(Diag 3).
7) Exceeding Bitt SWL
Class is primarily concerned with mooring the vessel, so
are satisfied if the strength of the foundation structure is The danger of exceeding the SWL of bitts is that there is
sufficient to meet the maximum mooring load (ie SWL of generally no reliable way to determine the strength of
bitts). From our earlier example, if SWL bitts is 32T the the foundation structure beyond the marked SWL. The
design load of the foundation will be 32T and the loads on towing lines can not exceed the SWL because
maximum load on a line attached to the bitts, regardless generally the supporting hull structures are only
of method of attachment, will be limited to 32T. approved to SWL.

The SWL of a set of bitts should be taken as the limiting

load of the bitts unless a higher towing load is marked. In
addition the lowest SWL of other components (fairleads,
MBL of line) should be taken as the limit.

Note that the OCIMF Mooring Guidelines for tankers

recommend that the foundation structure strength
should be designed for a load of 2 x SWL of bitts,
however there is no easy way to determine if this is the
case on a particular vessel.

6) Fairleads 8) TOW
The load imparted on a fairlead is a function of the load
Fittings on newer vessels may be marked with a
on the line regardless of the method of attachment to
maximum tow load (TOW). The TOW is the maximum
the bitts or its use for towing or mooring. The SWL of a
load on a tow-line attached to or passing around the
fairlead is defined as the maximum load on a line passing
fitting. For bitts the tow-line is secured by a single eye
through the fairlead. The actual load on the fairlead
passed over one post.
depends on the ‘wrap’ angle of the line. Outboard the
line can lead in any direction, but inboard will be The TOW marking on bitts give an indication of the
governed by the arrangement of fittings on deck. The strength of the foundation structure, but will not exceed
maximum wrap angle will be 1800 which results in a load 2 x SWL (design load of the bitts).
on the fitting twice the load on the line (Diag 4)
Various other markings have been noted such as “Figure
The design load of the fairlead and its foundation must of 8 / Eye Splice”, “Moor / Tow”.
be sufficient to meet the load imparted by the line based

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TOW LINE LOADING OF SHIPS MOORING FITTINGS continued.
9) Maximum tow line loading
The maximum load that can be applied to a tow-line will
be limited by the ‘weakest link’ in the system. This will be
the least of;
1) BITT TOW or BITT SWL if no TOW marked
2) SWL marked on any other fittings (ie fairleads)
3) MBL of line
10) Actual Tow Line Loads
The load on a tow line is not equal to the ordered tug
power and can easily exceed the bollard pull of the tug.
Any vertical angle on the tow line will increase the load
above the ordered tug power. An angle of 300 increases
the load by 15% and at 60o the load doubles.
Tow line forces during indirect or escort towing are
generated by the hydrodynamic forces on the tug hull
rather than the direct thrust and can greatly exceed the
BP of the tug.
A vessel has no control over the MBL of the tow line
supplied by a tug. Tow line MBL routinely exceeds the
bollard pull (BP) of the tug. In my port a tug with BP 64T
provides a line with MBL in excess of 100T.
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In this system the line is no longer the weakest link in
the system and in certain circumstances the bitt
foundation structure may be the component most prone
to overloading.
In Summary
To determine the maximum tow line load;
• Identify the weakest link in the system – bitts,
fairlead, foundation structures, line
• Limit tow line load to the strength of the weakest link
• Remember – tow line load ≠ ordered tug power.
Acknowledgements
My work on this topic has been in collaboration with an
industry group and I acknowledge their valuable support
and assistance in formulating these ideas;
Capt Arie Nygh (MD, SeaWays Consultants), Capt. Henk
Hensen (author, “Tug Use in Port – A Practical Guide”).
Gijsbert De-Jong (Manager, Offshore Service Vessels and
Tugs, Bureau Vertias).
Also thanks to DnV Sydney Office.