UK Standard Conditions for Towage
UKSCT from the 1920s to the 2024 revision: the deemed servant clause, the clause 4 indemnity, and what the deletion of 4(e) changed.
The UK Standard Conditions for Towage and Other Services govern most harbour towage contracted in the United Kingdom. They were introduced in the 1920s, comprehensively reviewed in 1974 and updated in 1986, and the British Tugowners Association is their custodian. UKSCT 2024, published in November 2024, replaced the 1986 revision after a review panel convened in 2023 drawn from the BTA, the International Group of P&I Clubs, senior admiralty lawyers, the UK Chamber of Shipping and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Clause 3 is the commercially decisive provision. Whilst towing, or whilst rendering any other service at the hirer’s express or implied request, the master and crew of the tug or tender are deemed to be the servants of the hirer and under the hirer’s control, and the hirer is accordingly vicariously liable for any act or omission by any person so deemed. The definition of Towing at clause 1(b)(i) covers holding, pushing, pulling, moving, escorting or guiding, or assisting or standing by the vessel, so escorting falls inside the conditions. The 2024 revision deleted clause 4(e), added the word expense and the phrase whether direct or indirect to clause 4(b), and revised the start and end points of Towing.
The full article will trace the revisions, set out the clause 4 indemnity in full, and explain how the deemed servant provision interacts with the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.