Emergency Towing Arrangements: SOLAS Rules for Tanker Pennants, and What’s Changing by 2028

Towing / Commercial marine / Technical guide

An Emergency Towing Arrangement isn’t optional equipment on a tanker — it’s a SOLAS requirement, and the rules on the pennant itself are precise. Here’s what’s actually mandated, and the 2028 change that extends it well beyond tankers.

Facts and figures checked against IMO resolutions and industry regulatory reporting — see references below.

What an Emergency Towing Arrangement is

An Emergency Towing Arrangement (ETA) is fixed equipment — a strongpoint, fairlead, chafing gear and towing pennant — that lets a disabled ship be taken under tow using only its own built-in structure, with no reliance on engines, cranes or power. SOLAS Chapter II-1, Regulation 3-4 has required tankers of 20,000 tonnes deadweight and above to carry one at both bow and stern since 1996, with existing vessels required to comply by their first scheduled docking after that date.^[1]

What the rules actually require of the pennant

The design basis comes from IMO Resolution MSC.35(63), adopted in 1994.^[2] The figures are specific rather than left to judgement:

Strength must hold across the full range of towing angles the pennant might realistically see — up to 90° off the ship’s centreline and 30° vertically downward — because a disabled ship under tow in weather won’t stay conveniently in line astern.^[2] This is a different sizing basis to the everyday towing pennants we cover in our towing pennants guide — an ETA pennant is emergency, worst-case equipment, sized and certified specifically to this standard, not general workboat gear pressed into service.

Since 2010, a separate but related requirement applies: tankers of 20,000 DWT and above, and cargo and passenger ships of 500 gross tons and above, must also carry a ship-specific Emergency Towing Booklet documenting exactly how the arrangement is deployed on that vessel.^[3] The equipment and the paperwork are both mandatory, and both get checked.

What’s changing by 2028

ETA requirements have applied only to tankers since 1996 — bulk carriers and general cargo vessels have never been required to fit one.^[4] That changes soon. In May 2024, IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee adopted Resolution MSC.549(108), amending SOLAS II-1/3-4 to extend the ETA requirement to new ships other than tankers of 20,000 gross tonnage or more, with entry into force set for 1 January 2028.^[5] Interim guidelines for these new ships were developed through 2025 and approved at MSC 110 that June.^[6]

Two things worth being precise about: the new requirement is scoped by gross tonnage, not deadweight, unlike the existing tanker rule — and it applies to ships built on or after 1 January 2028, not a retrofit mandate for the existing fleet.^[5] For newbuild bulk carriers, container ships and other large vessels currently in design or early construction, this is worth factoring in now rather than at delivery.

Foire aux questions

What ships currently need an Emergency Towing Arrangement?

Oil, chemical and gas tankers of 20,000 tonnes deadweight and above have been required to fit an ETA at both bow and stern since 1996, under SOLAS Chapter II-1, Regulation 3-4.

How strong does an ETA towing pennant need to be?

At least 1,000 kN working strength for tankers between 20,000 and 50,000 DWT, and at least 2,000 kN for tankers of 50,000 DWT and above, sufficient across towing angles up to 90° off the centreline and 30° vertically downward.

Will non-tanker ships need an ETA too?

Yes. IMO Resolution MSC.549(108), adopted in 2024, extends the ETA requirement to new ships other than tankers of 20,000 gross tonnage or more, entering into force on 1 January 2028. It applies to ships built on or after that date, not existing vessels.

Is an ETA pennant the same as a normal towing pennant?

No. An ETA pennant is sized and certified specifically to IMO’s emergency towing strength and length requirements as fixed, standby equipment. A general towing pennant used in day-to-day tug and workboat operations is a different application with different sizing criteria.

References

1. Gard — Emergency towing arrangements for tankers. gard.no — Emergency towing arrangements for tankers
2. IMO — Resolution MSC.35(63): Guidelines for Emergency Towing Arrangements on Tankers (1994). Full text of MSC.35(63)
3. Washington State Department of Ecology — Focus on Emergency Towing. Emergency Towing Booklet requirements (PDF)
4. Wikipedia — Emergency tow vessel, confirming bulk carriers and general cargo vessels are not required to fit a specialised ETA. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_tow_vessel
5. IIMS — SOLAS updates announced by IMO: New amendments on emergency towing, fire safety, and container reporting, on Resolution MSC.549(108). iims.org.uk — SOLAS updates
6. SAFETY4SEA — IMO MSC 110: Key outcomes, confirming approval of interim guidelines for emergency towing on ships other than tankers. safety4sea.com — MSC 110 key outcomes

Always confirm current requirements against the full text of SOLAS Chapter II-1, applicable IMO resolutions, and your vessel’s flag administration and class society before specifying or ordering ETA equipment.