… and I am probably being unfair to the owners. The system of evading rules and regulations is a race to the bottom. Responsible owners who would like to do the right thing are penalized by a system that rewards the lowest cost operators. If one operator reduces crews from 8 to 6 everyone is obliged to follow suit to stay competitive. If operators are allowed to build “tugs” without towing gear, eventually all such vessels will be without proper winches.
One of the proper and necessary functions of government is to level the playing field so responsible owners are rewarded for building and operating first class vessels.