Where a vessel is contracted to tow but renders extraordinary services, the towing vessel may have a valid claim for a salvage reward.
However, the towing vessel’s owner would have to show that the service changed from towage to salvage not through want of skill on his part, but by some accident over which he had no control. UK Standard Towage Conditions (on which tugs are usually hired in the UK and in many other nations) preserve the right of the tug owners and crew to claim salvage (and special compensation) for any extraordinary services rendered to vessels or anything aboard vessels by any tug or tender, the key word being “extraordinary”, i. e. beyond the services contracted for.
