船舶拖航作业可能影响船舶保赔险保单的效力
许多船东可能不知道船舶拖航作业有可能影响保赔险保单的效力。
船舶保赔险的保单对船舶正常营运中在港内和常规性的航次拖航有效。但是对于一些风险较高的拖航作业，其风险可能超过协会其它入会会员的风险承担范围，在这种情况下，协会将确定该拖航作业是否属于普通船舶保赔险保单承保的责任范围。如果协会认定超出，船东可能需要购买额外的船东责任险（Shipowners Liability Insurance cover, SOL）来承保这个风险。
如果船东需进行拖航作业，应该在第一时间通知保赔协会，以确定该拖航作业是否影响保赔险的保单效力。下面举例说明普通船舶保赔险不承保的几种船舶拖航的情形。
意外事故后的拖航作业必须事先通知保赔协会，该拖航风险在通常保赔险下不承保。
如果拖航合同将过多的责任归于被拖方的话，那么即使是为了进出港口进行的常规性拖航也需要通知协会。（因为）这些拖航合同规定，由承拖方的疏忽和过失造成的责任由被拖方承担；协会并不接受这类合同，因而该拖航会严重影响保单效力。一般来说，协会接受互撞免赔协议，即承拖方和被拖方对各自的财产损失和损害负责而不追溯对方的责任。另外，协会还接受TOWCON 和TOWHIRE合同。
所有保赔协会的保险条款都有规定，不适当的危险航程会影响保单责任。因此，如果该拖航较为危险，比如海事事故造成船况变化时，船东必须告知协会。
针对以上情况，船东应该购买船东责任险（SOL）。SOL是一个固定保费的险种，它可以承保普通的保赔险不承保的风险，责任限额在一千万至五千万美金之间。个别情况下，保赔协会也会同意承保拖航，但是会通过再保险将风险分散到保险市场上。这种情况与SOL保单不同，前者是再保险，后者是船东和保险人签订的保险合同。 最后提醒船东注意，如遇上述的情况，请提前通知我司，以便我们及时与协会沟通，了解承保情况以及是否需要购买船东责任险。
P&I coverage May Be Affected and Prejudiced during a Towage
Many owners are not aware that P&I coverage may be affected and prejudiced during a towage.
Where towage is customary in a port and a part of ordinary trading, P&I cover should not usually be affected. In general a P&I Club will determine whether some tows are too hazardous to be borne mutually by the other members and normal P&I cover would accorTherefore if an owner requires his vessel to be towed he should always first notify the P&I Club whether P&I cover would be affected during the tow. Examples are as follows where towage may not be covered under normal P&I cover.
Towage after a casualty must always be notified to the P&I Club in advance and such tows would not usually be covered under the normal P&I Club cover.
Towage when entering or leaving port as part of ordinary trading may also need to be notified to the P&I Club if the towage contract places onerous liabilities onto the tow. These tow contracts which place liability on the tow regardless of tug negligence and fault are not acceptable to P&I Clubs and P&I Club cover may be affected / prejudiced. A ‘knock for knock’ towage contract where the tug and tow are each responsible for the loss and damage to their own properties without recourse to the other party is usually acceptable to the P&I Club. TOWCON and TOWHIRE contracts are towage contracts acceptable to the P&I Clubs.
All P&I Club rules have a rule that if a voyage is imprudent, unsafe, unduly hazardous or improper, P&I Club cover would be prejudiced. So if the towage is dangerous or hazardous such as after a casualty or incident which may affect the vessel’s condition, an owner must notify the P&I Club. Andrew Liu & Co. Ltd
In all the above situations, a SOL cover may be required. An SOL cover replaces or buys back standard P&I cover with a fixed premium cover with a limit of between USD10 to USD50 million. In some situations a Club may agree to cover the tow but transfer this risk to the insurance market in which case this would be reinsurance and not an SOL cover the latter which is an insurance contract between the owner and market insurers.
It is very important owners advise us in advance when the vessel will be towed in the above circumstances so that we discuss with the P&I Club whether P&I Club is affected and whether an SOL cover is required.
