Beacon No. 1 2004 - Skuld

Around 60% of Smit Salvage’s
work has environmental
protection as its goal
Smit and the world of salvage
By Tony Redding, Director, Smit Salvage/TRS reprise
SMIT Salvage B.V. traces its origins back to 1842. Today, it is a member of a group providing
global services in the areas of salvage, harbour towage, terminals and heavy transport/heavy lift.
Salvage includes emergency response, wreck removal and environmental protection tasks, such
as the removal of pollutants from wrecks.
The contractual basis of salvage
Many salvage and towage operations are
performed under lump sum or daily hire
arrangements. Standard agreements are
widely used as they are ‘neutral’ and do not
favour any party. SMIT Salvage Commercial
Director Geert Koffeman told seminar
delegates that these contracts are
appropriate when there is no acute
emergency. However, if there is an active
threat of vessel loss and/or pollution,
salvage contracts such as Lloyd’s Form
(LOF) are important. He said: "LOF 2000,
the latest edition, is a Lloyd’s document
and is designed for instant response. When
LOF is agreed, financial issues are set
aside for resolution at a later date. Instead,
the focus is on solving the immediate
problem. The responsibility passes to the
salvor, who must use his ‘best endeavours’
to salve ship and cargo and prevent
environmental damage."
Responsibilities are set out in The Salvage
Convention 1989. A new system of salvage
remuneration was introduced in 1999.
It is known as SCOPIC – the Special
Compensation P&I Club clause. This
largely supersedes the 1989 Convention’s
Article 14 Special Compensation
arrangements. SCOPIC is a ‘safety net’,
designed to prevent the salvor suffering
heavy financial loss in high risk/low value
situations. This safety net is required in
around 20% of cases.
Aspects of operational response
Cape Town-based Dave Main is General
Manager of SMIT Salvage, South Africa. He
told the seminar that modern communications
transformed the business of salvage.
"Today, salvage is usually agreed in
discussions between the salvor’s office and
the offices of the owners and insurers. The
objectives have also changed. Around 60% of
our tasks now have environmental protection
as the main aim." He then gave a vivid account
of a practical example, the grounding of a
ro-ro vessel on the South African coast.
Major salvage and wreck removal cases
During the seminars, SMIT Senior Salvage
Consultant Bert Kleijwegt presented an
overview of several challenging salvage
operations, i.e. the chemical tanker Levoli
Sun, the submarine Kursk, the vehicle
carrier Tricolor and the tanker Prestige.
Media and communication management
The Oslo and Bergen seminars concluded
with an interactive session led by casualty
response and media specialist Tony Redding.
His message to the delegates was the
following: "It is important to be
straightforward and avoid appearing
evasive. It is best to concentrate on the
measures being taken to deal with the
emergency. It is dangerous to speculate
and appear over-confident in a situation
that is still developing."
It is possible for an owner to be at the
centre of a major marine accident and spill
and receive relatively little media attention.
The news focus may be on other parties.
However, a high-profile case can impose
extreme communications workloads. There
may be a need to provide 24-hour service
to the international media, for a significant
period."
(Please note that this is an abridged version
of the original article.)
BEACON 21