Tow / towing
A vessel towing another vessel, a barge or a structure — slow, hard to manoeuvre, and with a long line between.
Tows are slow and cannot turn or stop quickly, and the line between tug and tow may be hundreds of metres long and hard to see, especially at night. Warnings describe the tug and tow, the route and the length of the tow, and ask ships to give way and never pass between them.
Under the Collision Regulations, a tug whose tow is longer than 200 metres shows a diamond-shaped day shape and an extra masthead light. Tows of rigs, barges and disabled ships feature often in the archive, as do tows that broke and left something adrift.
What the archive shows
13,900 messages in this archive use “Tow / towing”, the earliest issued 1968-03-03 and the latest 2026-09-22. 12 of them are in force in the latest lists we collected. A hazard reported again and again counts once per message.
The largest yearly count is 2000, with 1,659 messages. Collection is incomplete between 2024-05 and 2026-08-17, so 2024, 2025 and 2026 are not comparable with fully collected years.
Cable ops accounts for 9,868 of 13,900 recorded messages (71%), the largest warning type group in this selection.
Located messages that use it fall in 83 sea areas; the most frequent are South Atlantic Ocean (5,451), North Atlantic Ocean (955) and North Pacific Ocean (666).
Its use is spread fairly evenly through the year: the busiest month, January, has 1,268 messages and the quietest, November, 1,048.
By warning series: HYDROLANT 8,873, HYDROPAC 3,039, NAVAREA IV 605 and NAVAREA XII 559, and 9 more.
Messages using it, by year of issue
By month of issue, all years
Where it appears · 83 sea areas
- South Atlantic Ocean 5,451
- North Atlantic Ocean 955
- North Pacific Ocean 666
- Arabian Sea 438
- South China Sea 361
- Gulf of Mexico 350
- North Sea 332
- Bay of Bengal 286
- Norwegian Sea 218
- Mediterranean Sea - Eastern Basin 159
- Indian Ocean 115
- Sea of Okhotsk 100
In force now · 12
- HYDROARC 191/26 · Surveys · Norwegian Sea2026-08-28 · in force
…SEA. 1. SURVEY OPERATIONS IN PROGRESS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE BY M/V AMAZON CONQUEROR TOWING 12 10000 METER LONG CABLES IN AREA BOUND BY 65-40.80N 005-19.70E, 65-42.20N 006-52.30E,…
Survey operations in progress until further notice by M/V amazon conqueror towing 12 10000 meter long cables… → - NAVAREA 7 246/26 · Cable ops · South Atlantic Ocean2026-08-24 · in force
…RIVER MOUTH 2. CHART SAN 1 3. M/V RAMFORM VICTORY CONDUCTING SEISMIC SURVEY OPERATIONS TOWING 12 SEISMIC CABLES WITH LENGTH 2.6 NM IN AREAS BOUNDED BY THE FOLLOWING COORDINATES A. 06…
NAVAREA VII 246 of 2026 (24 aug 26) 1. south atlantic ocean - ne sector - offshore orange river mouth 2.… → - NAVAREA I 171/26 · Cable ops · North Sea2026-08-15 · in force
NORTH SEA. FRIGG FIELD. 1. SEISMIC SURVEY IN PROGRESS BY RSV AMAZON CONQUEROR TOWING 8 X 1 MILE LONG CABLES IN AREA BOUND BY 60-00.9N 001-57.8E, 60-01.7N 002-13.3E, 59-48.7N…
Seismic survey in progress by rsv amazon conqueror towing 8 X 1 mile long cables in area bound by 60-00.9N… → - HYDROPAC 2249/26 · Surveys · South China Sea2026-08-06 · in force
…SOUTH CHINA SEA. MALAYSIA. 1. SURVEY OPERATIONS IN PROGRESS UNTIL 31 DEC BY M/V PXGEO 2 TOWING EIGHT FIVE MILE LONG CABLES IN AREA BOUND BY 06-33.00N 103-25.00E, 06-50.00N 102-58.00E,…
Survey operations in progress until 31 dec by M/V pxgeo 2 towing eight five mile long cables in area bound… → - NAVAREA XI 356/26 · Cable ops · South China Sea2026-08-06 · in force
GULF OF THAILAND AND SOUTH CHINA SEA, SOUTHERN PART. SEISMIC SURVEY WORKS BY M/V PXGEO 2 TOWING EIGHT CABLES, EACH 5 MILE LONG. UNTIL 31 DEC 2026. AREA BOUNDED BY 06-33N 103-25E 06-50N…
Seismic survey works by M/V pxgeo 2 towing eight cables, each 5 mile long → - HYDROPAC 2241/26 · Surveys · Timor Sea2026-08-05 · in force
TIMOR SEA. AUSTRALIA. SURVEY OPERATIONS IN PROGRESS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICEBY M/V SW BLY TOWING TWELVE 7300 METER CABLES IN AREA BOUND BY 12-47.76S 127-35.15E, 12-38.08S 127-44.03E,…
Survey operations in progress until further noticeby M/V sw bly towing twelve 7300 meter cables in area… →
How it reads in recent messages
- HYDROLANT 1875/26 · Surveys · North Atlantic Ocean2026-09-22
…IN PROGRESS UNTIL 03 OCT BY M/V AMAZON WARRIOR, M/V VENTURE G AND M/V BIG JOHN VII TOWING 12 10000 METER LONG CALBES IN AREA BOUND BY 04-33.71N 050-01.26W, 05-42.36N 048-58.13W,…
Survey operations in progress until 03 oct by M/V amazon warrior, M/V venture g and M/V big john VII towing… → - NAVAREA II 335/26 · Towing · Celtic Sea2026-09-20
PAZENN. TOWING OPERATIONS. UNWIELDY TOW. TUG BOULDER TOWING BARGE H-408 FROM ITALY TO IRISH SEA LENGTH…
Towing operations → - NAVAREA II 332/26 · Towing · North Atlantic Ocean2026-09-16
FINISTERRE, PAZENN. TOWING OPERATIONS. UNWIELDY TOW. TUG BOULDER TOWING BARGE H-408 FROM ITALY TO IRISH SEA LENGTH…
Towing operations → - HYDROLANT 1825/26 · Surveys · North Atlantic Ocean2026-09-15
…IN PROGRESS UNTIL 26 SEP BY M/V AMAZON WARRIOR, M/V VENTURE G AND M/V BIG JOHN VII TOWING 12 10000 METER LONG CABLES IN AREA BOUND BY 04-33.71N 050-01.26W, 05-42.36N 048-58.13W,…
Survey operations in progress until 26 sep by M/V amazon warrior, M/V venture g and M/V big john VII towing… → - NAVAREA IV 918/26 · Surveys · North Atlantic Ocean2026-09-14
NORTH ATLANTIC. GUYANA. 1. SURVEY OPERATIONS 27 SEP THRU 23 OCT BY TUG DONA JOSE II AND M/V EXXONMOBIL GUYANA LIMITED IN AREA BOUND BY 08-48.42N 057-24.76W,…
Survey operations 27 sep thru 23 oct by tug dona jose II and M/V exxonmobil guyana limited in area bound by… → - NAVAREA II 324/26 · Towing · North Atlantic Ocean2026-09-14
SAO VICENTE, PORTO, FINISTERRE. TOWING OPERATIONS. UNWIELDY TOW. TUG BOULDER TOWING BARGE H-408 FROM ITALY TO IRISH SEA LENGTH…
Towing operations → - NAVAREA II 322/26 · Towing · North Atlantic Ocean2026-09-12
CADIZ, GIBRALTAR STRAIT, SAO VICENTE. TOWING OPERATIONS. UNWIELDY TOW. TUG BOULDER TOWING SEMI-SUBMERSIBLE CRANE VESSEL FROM ITALY TO…
Towing operations → - NAVAREA IV 877/26 · Cable ops · North Atlantic Ocean2026-09-11
…ATLANTIC. TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO. 1. PIPELINE OPERATIONS IN PROGRESS UNTIL 222200Z OCT BY TUG CARIB SUN AND BARGE PTM 506 ALONG TRACKLINE JOINING 10-06.83N 060-49.74W, 10-10.62N…
Trinidad and tobago →
Earliest in the archive
- NOAAORR-6202 · Spills · North Atlantic Ocean1968-03-03
…the forward section was anchored in place. Three days later, U. S. Navy tugs tried to tow the forward section out of the harbor. Adverse weather hindered the operation, and…
San juan, puerto rico →
Often in the same message
Related terms
- Restricted in ability to manoeuvre
- A vessel whose work — cable laying, diving, dredging, towing — stops it from keeping out of other ships' way.
- Adrift
- Loose and moving with wind and current — a vessel, container, buoy, log or anything else no longer secured.
- Derelict
- An abandoned vessel still afloat and drifting, with no one on board.
Warning types that use it
- Towing — Vessels under tow with long or unlit tow lines.
Counts cover the messages in this archive that use the term, recounted 2026-09-24; see coverage for what is collected and since when. Not for navigation — follow official NAVAREA and coastal broadcasts.