# tugs with expired class.



## tony Allard (Jan 25, 2009)

i have been doing some searching on equasis, i have looked up some tug boats they were classed with Lloyds register, but their class has been with drawn by the owner,

now this maybe off the subject but i wanted to know,

1. can a vessel be operated with a expired class.
2. would a vessel continue to be insured without a class.
3. without a class could a vessel be classed as safe to continue being operated as its title states.

i have tried looking up these questions on google but cant find anything.

because i always assumed that the classed vessel would be seaworthy as the vessel is always checked over as per guidelines, and well with a expired or withdrawn class the vessel may not be 100% seaworthy after some time as the items that would normally be checked are no longer checked, or would say the engineer still check and make sure the vessel is ok.

i hope someone could help answer this tricky question.

Tony.


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## Caperora (May 27, 2012)

They may have been re-classed with a different classification society

In general
1. No
2. Insurance company may insure pending issue of a new class certificate at increased premium ?
3. It could in principle be safe but no reputable company would be prepared to charter an unclassed vessel

Its also worth noting that the vessel may only be seaworthy at the time of the class survey or periodic inspection in between surveys anything could occur hence most reputable companies would require a third party independent inspection before taking a vessel on charter, which is one of my jobs these days,
Hope this helps
Ray


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## OilJiver (Jun 30, 2014)

Hi Tony,

I think Ray has answered you questions but herewith a couple of thoughts of my own.

Many people misunderstand what ship classification is all about. A Certificate of Class is not a certificate of seaworthiness. It confirms that a ship has been designed, built, (and maintained) in accordance with Classification Society rules.

I presume you wish to operate the vessel for trade. 
That being the case, it will need to be certificated in accordance with Statutory (Flag State) requirements. Without a Certificate of Class, all Statutory Certification previously held will be invalid.

Hope that is also of help.


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## tony Allard (Jan 25, 2009)

ok thanks for the replies guys, 

i dont want to use a vessel,
im currently in Australia, there is a Tug called ballina, and another two tugs called Broadsound and bellyando, all three tugs are based in australia and all had Lloyds Register class, yet all three have been sold from their previous owners and now, they have got no class at all yet they are in operation near Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

the ballina had sydney Australia as its port of registry and now its cook islands port of registry now, yet on equasis the Ballina has no class whatsoever listed. 
and the other two tugs i believe are still under an australian flag.

i understand what you's are telling me.
i was just curious.

Tony.


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## Caperora (May 27, 2012)

Understood Tony
Often an owner will use the International Register of Shipping for short term registration often for a single voyage for demolition.
The IRS provides this short term registration and issue certification to ensure the vessel is legal for the voyage, but in the case of these tugs I have no idea

Ray


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## tony Allard (Jan 25, 2009)

bellyando and broadsound departed from Bundaberg to her new owners up north of australia and the Ballina was up for sale by Svitzer at their tug base in Brisbane Queensland, and she was sold to a company in Fiji,

but i forgot to mention the ballina has Avatiu as a new port of registry, the other two sister tugs dont seem to have a flag state yet they are owned by a company based on the solomon islands,

but now to think of it i have another question,
do tugs have to be classed with an organisation or instead could they have a certificate with an organisation say for example MCA certificate category 3 (upto 20 miles from safe haven)??

i have came across another two vessels that are not with a classification society,
the sister tugs are called Herveybay and Widebay, which are now based in the port of bundaberg, they were both built by Port Otago harbour board in Dunedin New Zealand in 1974, anyway it has on equasis New Zealand flagged, their port of registry as i rembered from a few weeks ago is Dunedin, well they are insured with a p&i assoc; The Ship owners' Mutual P&I Association (Luxembourg)
so that would mean that they would have a certificate that has been issued to them,

i have a pic attached of the two sisters Hervey Bay and wide bay heading into Brisbane if you look very closely you see they have no class marked on the plimsol line.

im starting to understand that equasis may not have all details listed down for some vessels.

but thanks for info again Ray and Oil Jiver.

Tony


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## Caperora (May 27, 2012)

As far as I am aware the MCA categories only cover the smaller commercial vessels such as work boats, pilot boats etc. and in restricted waters depending on which category they are under.

I See in your photo the vessels are actually under tow and therefore not in commercial operation therefore they may well have a single voyage class exemption until they actually start work in their new location.

Cheers
Ray


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## Stephen Carter (Aug 12, 2007)

Certainly for smaller tugs and dredgers and other harbour craft there is no legal requirement to keep them in class, and in fact many tug owners and harbour authorities had vessels built to class to ensure building standards but then withdrew them to save on the on going survey costs. It has always been possible to get insurance cover for such vessels, albeit possibly at a slightly higher premium, but this would usually be less than the cost of keeping the vessel in class, so it is a commercial decision. Not being in class does not negate the responsibility of the owner to keep the vessel in all respects in a fit condition to undertake the operations for which the vessel would be deployed. 

Stephen


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## BR_Reef (Jul 8, 2008)

BELYANDO and BROADSOUND are both now registered at Honiara, Solomon Islands.


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## tony Allard (Jan 25, 2009)

ok i understand, ray and stephan. thanks for that.

hello br-reef i see you are on here as well, i asked you about the former tugs that were operating in the port of bundaberg, i think that was a year ago now, anyway, i think those two tugs are based in the soloman islands, i remember they were cheap at around $460,000 each.

Tony.


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