Girting definition
Girting means the capsize of a tug when in the act of towage as a result of the towline force acting transversely to the tug (in beam direction) as a consequence of an unexpected event (could be loss of propulsion/steering or otherwise), whereby the resulting couple generated by offset and opposing transverse forces (towline force is opposed by thrust or hull resistance force) causes the tug to heel and, ultimately, to capsize. This may also be referred to as ‘girthing, ‘girding’ or ‘tripping’. See Figure 1 which shows the forces acting during towage operations.
Girting means the capsize of a tug when in the act of towage as a result of the towline force acting transversely to the tug (in beam direction) as a consequence of an unexpected event (could be loss of propulsion/steering or otherwise), whereby a couple of transverse forces is generated (towline force is opposed by thrust or hull resistance force), causing the tug to heel and ultimately to capsize. This may also be referred to as ‘girthing’, ‘girding’ or ‘tripping’ and is particularly relevant to conventional single screw tugs. Tractor and ASD (Azimuthing stern drive) tugs are less likely to girt because their tow is self-aligning and the tug master is able to produce significant thrust in all directions. It is clearly understood that towing from a point near amidships on a conventional tug is inherently unstable and can result in situations where the load on the towline can heel the tug over to a large and dangerous angle.