How to Start Boat Towing Business

Summary: If you are looking for a good business that will get you more dollars per hour, you should start thinking about starting a boat towing service. It is always in demand, since there are a lot of ships plying the waters around the world and one of them is always bound to run into problems every once in a while.

Boat towing is an emergency service. They are always to be there when the need arises.

Just imagine how many ships are there that ply the bodies of water around the United States and other countries. This represents a sizable market for you, since one or two boats are bound to run into emergencies every now and then.

This means that boat towing services have the potential of earning one a lot of money even in just one accident. That is because boat towing services charge per hour, and it takes quite some time to tow a vessel from the waiting area and unto the wharf where it can be docked. Boat towing services are also capable of salvaging grounded vessels but it depends on what you’re reading to spend on.

There are only a few requirements that you would need to accomplish before you can start operating a boat towing service. These requirements are:

• Business registration - Anywhere you may want to base your business in, you would still need to register it with the state agency in charge of such a task. Without this, your business would be considered illegal since it cannot be charged the appropriate taxes and fees. Without being registered, you only would not be able to avail of the protection of the law when the time comes.
• Towing equipment - Towing equipment would generally include the tugboats that you will be using for towing maritime vessels to the shore. This would also include the rigging equipment like ropes, cables and many others. Fortunately, these are all available anywhere. You can just check the Internet to find new and slightly used equipment for sale at a variety of prices, but most of them ranging from USD15,000 and up to the millions.
• Personnel - You would need to recruit the appropriate personnel in order to operate your tugboats. They should be people who are experienced in such an activity, because boat towing is a science all on its own in the maritime industry.
• Appropriate permits - Since you are operating a maritime vessel – albeit designed to assist other maritime vessel in need – you would need to secure a seagoing permit from the local maritime agency. To qualify, you would need to make sure that all your vessels are seaworthy and will not run into accidents on their own. Your employees and crew should also be qualified to operate seagoing vessels and must have the necessary paperwork to prove their qualification.
• Liability insurance - This is a must for any business, since there is always a chance that you will make some mistakes and ends up damaging your client’s vessel. Any damage, big or small, is bound to end up in a compensations claim so it is wise to have some insurance ready.