I think this interpretation has an appropriate time and place for use.
When designing a simple carbon steel pressure vessel, the additional cost to make the design able to withstand a vertical hydrotest can be minimal.
If however you are designing a thin-walled titanium tower, the additional cost to make the tower able to withstand a vertical hydrotest may be significant.
In the software we use it is very easy to turn on/off hydrotest cases for vertical and horizontal tests. So, I often run the vertical test case just to see if it leads to any problems. Depending on what changes would need to be made, and the material of construction for the vessel, we make a judgement call if designing for a vertical test is reasonable.
All that aside, if a customer spec requires the vessel to be designed for a vertical test, then we design for the vertical test...
-Marty