Salvage World Q2 2023

ISU publishes 2022 salvage industry statistics

ISU has published its annual statistics for 2022 revealing the following headline numbers:

Gross revenue for ISU members - US$ 241 million (2021, US$ 391 million)

149 services provided (2021, 189 services)

Lloyd’s Open Form (LOF) - 26 cases (2021, 29). LOF revenue down at US$ 66 million (2021, US$ 122 million)

Wreck removal income - US$ 55 million from 32 services (2021, US$ 108 million from 56 services)

All numbers are gross income from which all the contractors’ costs must be paid. Numbers are for income in the year received not the year when the service was provided.

ISU President, Captain Nicholas Sloane, said: “The 2022 ISU statistics show a 38 per cent decrease in the income received by our members compared with the previous year. Emergency Response

services generated US$ 166 million split between LOF, US$ 66 million and other contracts, $100 million.

“Wreck removal income has nearly halved, dropping from US$ 108 million to US$ 55 million.

“Economic conditions are challenging and activity and income for our industry is volatile year-on-year. The general trend towards a smaller number of larger and more complex cases enhances that annual variability.

“The numbers in this survey reflect the period when the world was still fully contending with the Covid pandemic which made operations and logistics more challenging. Throughout those difficult times ISU members showed time and again their problem solving and willingness to overcome obstacles to provide services to their clients, the shipowners, and their insurers. And, taken alongside the ISU’s pollution prevention statistics, these numbers demonstrate a dynamic industry which, in most years,

performs some 200 salvage services. The 2022 ISU statistics show a historic low level of LOF cases - 26 for ISU members - generating income of US$ 66 million. Revenue from LOF cases amounted to 40 per cent of emergency response revenue and LOF cases accounted for 21 per cent of emergency response cases in 2022. SCOPIC revenue at US$ 21 million in 2022 was down from US$ 42 million previously.

Revenue in 2022 from operations conducted under contracts other than LOF was US$ 100 million. The average revenue from each non-LOF contract was therefore US$ 813,000.

Wreck removal is an important source of income for members of the ISU and in 2022 there was US$ 55 million from 32 operations (23 per cent of the total income) which was dramatically down on 2021’s US$ 108 million from 56 operations (28 per cent of the total income).

Scopic revenue

Removal

ISU publishes 2022 salvage industry statistics continued

Captain Sloane added: “Professional salvors protect the environment, reduce risk and mitigate loss. They also keep trade moving – which is demonstrated so clearly when there are large containership cases. We continue to work closely with key stakeholders to ensure that there is continued global provision of professional

salvage services.”

The ISU statistics are collected from all ISU members by a professional third party which aggregates and analyses them. The statistics do not include the revenues of non-ISU members but are the only formal measure of the state of the

ISU secretariat visit to China and Hong Kong

ISU Secretary General, James Herbert, delivered a keynote address at the China International Rescue and Salvage Conference in Wuhan, China (right).

He focussed on the importance of the salvage industry in supporting the ESG agenda. The conference brought together the Chinese salvage community and a number of international participants.

It also provided an opportunity to engage formally with ISU member, China Rescue and Salvage including its director, Mr Wang Lei (right with Mr Herbert) and other senior colleagues, for discussions about the state of the industry in China and Asia and the importance of cooperation.

While in the region, Mr Herbert also took the opportunity to meet representatives of ISU members Hong Kong Towage and Salvage and the Hong Kong Shipowners’ Association and the Hong Federation of Marine Insurance.

The importance of shipping in the region and for the rest of the world is beyond doubt and ensuring there is a good understanding of the value of the professional salvor among insurers and shipowners is key for ISU.

marine salvage industry. The statistics are for income received in the relevant year but that can include revenue relating to services provided in previous years and there can be an element of “time lag”. The statistics are for gross revenues from which all of the salvors’ outgoings and overheads must be met.

Below left - ISU Secretary General James Herbert with delegates from the Hong Kong Federation of Insurance including to his left Patrick Wong and to his right Timothy Lee. Below right - with Sandy Chan, Managing Director, Hong Kong Shipowners' Association and Martin Cresswell the Association's Technical Director.

The ISU AGM, followed by a gala dinner, will take place on Thursday 12 October at the Conrad Hotel Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. There will be an Executive Committee meeting and welcome reception the preceding day, Wednesday 11 October, and there will be visits and other activities on Friday 13 October. Hotel booking information has been circulated to all ISU members. Further details of the associated events will be circulated in the next period.

The annual Marine Insurance Americas conference will be held at the Broward Convention Centre in Fort Lauderdale on 11 October and may also be of interest to ISU members.

If members have questions about the AGM and its arrangements, contact the Secretary General.

Lloyd’s Open Form Fixed Cost Arbitration Procedure (FCAP)

Lloyd’s Arbitrator, Lionel Persey KC, led a group of interested parties - including ISU - in considering ways to refresh the FCAP. The resulting proposal is now under consultation and all ISU members have

been asked to submit their views.

The intent is to encourage more use of LOF by making arbitrations more efficient and less costly. It is proposed to significantly increase the “value” of the case at which FCAP can be used, based on the security the contractor is seeking. This would mean that far more cases would automatically be considered suitable for a revised FCAP.

Following consultation it is expected that a formal proposal will be made to the Lloyd’s Salvage Group in November 2023.

Lloyd’s Open Form – collection of “ESG” data

Lloyd’s is also working on a proposal to collect information from each LOF case to be able better to demonstrate publicly how the contract supports the important Environment, Social and Governance Agenda (ESG). It could involve collecting information, for example, about the potential pollutants that were on the casualty, similar to the ISU’s pollution prevention survey.

International Maritime Organisation

The IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee has recently revised the IMO’s strategy for shipping decarbonization - the reduction of Greenhouse Gasses, or GHG. Preliminary work was done by the Intersessional Working Group on Reducing GHG.

By the end of the week, MEPC 80 had finalised its proposed new strategy to be presented to the full Assembly. The proposal is to acheive net-zero close to

2050; striving for 10% use of zero GHG technologies by 2030; striving for 30% reduction in emissions by 2030 and 80% reduction by 2040.

However emissions need to be considered on a “well-to-wake” basis, which includes the GHGs that come from the production of the fuel as well as the emissions from using the fuels in marine engines.

MEPC 80 also looked into ballast water

China Diving and Salvage Association

A delegation from ISU Affiliate Member, China Diving and Salvage Association visited the ISU in London for informal discussions about salvage and rescue in China.

The Association is celebrating its 15th Anniversary this year and is led by President, Captain Song Jiahui who, as director of China Rescue and Salvage, was a long-term member of the ISU Executive Committee. CDSA has some 900 hundred corporate members and some 2000 individual divers are also members.

Annual Review

The ISU Annual Review 2022 is published this week. It contains a President’s foreword giving a summary of the state of the industry, there are reports from the secretariat and advisers as well as industry and pollution prevention statistics and the association’s accounts are published.

treatment, marine litter and marine noise. Ship-to-ship transfers were in the spotlight as the IMO noted that: “The Committee is expected to discuss a document aiming to raise awareness on the potential environmental risks and the consequences and concerns for the global marine pollution prevention and liability and compensation regimes relating to the increase in ship-to-ship transfers at sea. A draft Assembly resolution is proposed.”

Above: China Diving and Salvage Association visit to ISU, L-R: Lu Yan, CDSA: James Herbert; CDSA President, Captain Song Jiahui; ISU Vice President, John Witte; ISU Legal Adviser, Richard Gunn; Huang Zhentang, SCR and CDSA

Solis

Solis Marine Group LLP has welcomed Master Mariner, Cate Heil, to its London team. She has more than 35 years of experience in the maritime industry and Solis said she will work in the UK and on international appointments using her experience at sea and ashore, particularly in areas of national and international regulatory systems and standards, to provide expertise concerning all types of marine incidents.

Cate began her maritime career in the UK, working for Lowline and Bluestar gaining experience in the offshore oil and gas sector and reefers and container vessels. This was followed by a long period with P&O Nedlloyd and P&O European Ferries (Portsmouth) Ltd, working on Ro-Pax cruise ferries and High-Speed Craft (HSC) trading both worldwide and in European waters.

She further consolidated her professional experience as a Lecturer in Nautical Studies for the City of Glasgow College - specialising in training officers for cargo operations, structures and maintenance, maritime law and vessel management, and conducting full bridge and navigation simulations.

Cate was also an Examiner of Masters and Mates for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) in the UK and Senior Technical Advisor and, subsequently, Maritime Officer at Maritime New Zealand.

On her new role, Cate said: “I am looking forward to expanding my own knowledge and combining all aspects of my career and the work that I have done so far in providing support to Solis Marine's clients”.

Senior Partner, Captain John Simpson commented: “We are delighted to have Cate join the team in London as we continue to grow both our client base and team of experienced master mariners. We look forward to introducing Cate to our clients.”

Brookes Bell

Brookes Bell has appointed Chris Ellyatt as a Managing Scientist. With a degree in biology, Brookes Bell said Chris has developed an extensive career in the forensic investigation of marine cargo related incidents and that he is “one of the most-recognised cargo scientists in the market.” He has a specialty in dry bulk cargo such as grains, oilseeds and animal feed/seedcakes. He has also been

Intercargo benchmarking report

Intercargo has published its Benchmarking Bulk Carriers 2022-2023 Report.

There has been a steady increase in Port State Control (PSC) detention rates following the pandemic in all regions, but Intercargo says that its entered vessels “consistently outdid industry performance indicators in both deficiencies and detentions”.

The Report provides information on detention rates and deficiencies per inspection (DPI) across Flag States, Class, insurers, and Port State Control, in addition to owners’ benchmarking and a review of the negative performance indicators currently affecting the sector.

Deficiencies per inspection (DPI) rates remain unchanged and in line with previous years’ Benchmarking Reports, the 11 leading Class Societies (IACS Members), which class over 95% of the bulk carrier market, performed significantly

better than non-IACS classed vessels regarding DPI, with an average of 1.69 vs 4.31.

The Australian Maritime Safety Agency heads the list of the nine regional PSC authorities and two national PSC regimes with a detention rate of 8.52% for vessels calling at Australian ports against the average across all authorities of 2.34%.

In 2022 the global bulk carrier fleet was registered with 92 Flags, an increase of four compared to 2021 and out of these, 15 have fleets of 100 bulk carriers or more, accounting for just over 89% of the global bulker fleet. Panama, Marshall Islands and Liberia continue to be the three dominant Flags, however, Bangladesh also joined the leading line-up for 2022 with 104 registered vessels.

Commenting on the 2022-23 Report, Paul Markides, Marine Quality Manager at Intercargo, said: “Detention rates and DPI rates are once again lower for Intercargo

involved in other bulk and bagged cargoes such as rice, coffee, cocoa beans and sugar, as well as refrigerated products including fruits and vegetables.

Mr Ellyatt said: “New issues surrounding cargo on board vessels are always arising so it is important that we can get stuck in directly and help to mitigate problems on the ground as they occur and prevent them from happening in the future.”

Chris has investigated cargo issues on a wide variety of vessel types, including geared and non-geared bulkers, reefer vessels, container ships and barges. He has also performed inspections and sampling operations in shoreside facilities including warehouses, processing facilities, factories, container yards and silos. With extensive hands-on experience, Chris has investigated, mitigated and resolved issues in many countries around the world.

In addition to his work as a Managing Scientist for Brookes Bell, Chris is a fully elected member of the Royal Society of Biology, the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (ISTC) and the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST), where he sits as a volunteer on their Scientific Committee.

members and it is pleasing to see that while there has been an overall increase in detention rates in the industry, the ratio of Intercargo members’ vessels being detained as part of the total dry bulk fleet fell in 2022.”

Multraship - christening of new tugs

In May, Multraship Towage & Salvage named two tugs at a christening ceremony held at its home port of Terneuzen in the Netherlands.

MULTRATUG 5, a Damen Stan Tug 1205 and MULTRATUG 6, a Damen ASD Tug 2810, were immediately entered into service upon delivery to Multraship and are currently in operation in the River Scheldt area.

MULTRATUG 6 is the last Damen ASD Tug 2810 to be built. Following the sale of over 200 vessels it is the Dutch shipbuilder’s most successful design and operates all around the world.

Captain Leendert Muller, Managing Director, Multraship, commented at the ceremony: “We work hard to ensure that our fleet reflects the needs and requirements of our customers and that we are best equipped to provide rapid, reliable and safe towage and salvage services at any time. For this we need to have high-quality

tugs with a range of operational capabilities. We are very pleased to formally welcome MULTRATUG 5 and MULTRATUG 6 to our fleet.”

The naming ceremony was attended by many guests from Europe and further afield who, following the ceremony, enjoyed the hospitality of Multraship’s annual Captain’s Dinner party.

Marine Masters' operation in Israel

Marine Masters has successfully removed a collapsed 1200 tonne coal transfer crane and a portion of the associated jetty damaged during extreme weather conditions on 13 March 2023 in Ashkelon, Israel.

The work required removal of all the debris and crane components from the seabed. The team were also able to recover the body of the crane operator who regrettably lost their life during the crane collapse.

Following a tender tender process, Marine Masters was contracted to provide salvage and engineering expertise to ensure that the work had minimal impact on the marine environment in the aftermath of the incident. The engineering team performed frequent inspections of the sister coal transfer crane to assess the likely form of the collapsed crane’s structure.

This allowed them to quickly define exact locations for the subsea cuts by the salvage divers and ensure the structure’s total recovery from the seabed. The team worked rapidly over 7 weeks, despite being impacted by geopolitical conflict, and completed work ahead of schedule.

Danny Spaans, Director of Marine Masters, said: “We are very pleased to have completed this project ahead of the initially estimated schedule. Despite challenges such as the heavily entangled crane and bridge components, significant underwater cutting and access difficulties, the Marine Masters team delivered swift results without compromising safety.”

Their contractor provided barges, anchor handling tugs, and cranes for the project. The team utilised single

Multraship noted that the vessels were delivered during a period of wider fleet expansion - the company has also added two Dutch ERTVs, MULTRASHIP COMMANDER and MULTRASHIP PROTECTOR, and MULTRASALVOR 6, a Damen Multi Cat and salvage support vessel along with another harbour tug, MULTRATUG 9, over the past year.

point lifts wherever possible to ensure that subsea cutting and rigging works were minimised, saving diving time and enabling quicker recovery and removal of the collapsed crane.

Following removal of the 25 tonne electric house lift and the 80 tonne heavy mechanical house, a controlled collapse of the remaining crane parts was performed and then all the sections were extracted. The team also removed a 200 tonne damaged section of the jetty and related debris from the seabed.

Above: The collapsed coal transfer jetty at Ashkelon, Israel and right, Marine Masters works to remove the debris.

On 26 April, the MV HIMALAYA - 2,583 tonnes dwt and in ballast, experienced engine failure and sheltered and dropped anchor in the area of Kardamyli/Stoupa, Greece.

On 28 April, Tsavliris dispatched its tug HERMES - 41 tbp - from her salvage station at Patras Port, to assist the casualty. Due to difficulties in heaving up the anchor, it became necessary to cut and buoy the casualty’s anchor chain.

On 29 April, towage to Piraeus Port commenced, arriving on 2 May where the vessel was delivered to two port tugs for immediate berthing at Neo Molo Drapetsonas. On 3 May the operation was successfully completed.

In corporate news, Tsavliris Salvage announced that it has obtained the certification, ISO 22301 by AXIA CERT LTD for Business Continuity Management. Tsavliris said the new certification "demonstrates the commitment for increased resilience, uninterrupted operations and increased capability to handle disruption.”

Additionally, Tsavliris renewed successfully its ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certifications by Bureau Veritas, with a record of zero incidents at sea and marine pollution.

Elsewhere, Tsavliris Salvage received the "Green & Environmental Award" during the "Maria Callas Awards 2023" in Monte Carlo. Andreas A Tsavliris represented the company and received the Award from His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco who is a supporter of green policies and his Foundation has

Resolve Marine - operational and corporate news

Resolve Marine concluded a challenging project that it says will “long be remembered for rejuvenating a fishing industry and restoring a valuable local community.”

San Carlos Island, Florida is home to the US Gulf of Mexico’s pink shrimping industry and was devasted when Hurricane Ian hit landfall as a Category 4 storm late September 2022.

Resolve assisted with the removal of more than 40 vessels displaced ashore using its RMG 400 crane barge. Access to the vessels needed work to clear debris pathways for personnel, rigging and roller bag access.

The operation required the removal of fuel and rotting shrimps and Resolve said “the team overcame numerous obstacles

including fire safety, hazardous materials, working at heights and much more.”

Elsewhere, Resolve’s salvage tug, RESOLVE COMMANDER, has been in action off the east coast of Florida. On two occasions, she was dispatched from her salvage station in Freeport, Bahamas to assist two disabled container vessels which lost power close to Florida's coast.

In corporate news, Resolve Marine says it has demonstrated its commitment to invest with a newly-opened 10,000 square foot facility in Tacoma, Washington USA. The warehouse holds owned and maintained equipment ready to deploy by air, sea or land. The company said the expansion "strengthens its emergency response and salvage capabilities" in a region where it has recently conducted several high-profile operations.

The facility will also offer environmental remediation, commercial diving and marine construction services. Chad Kasin, appointed as Resolve’s Pacific Northwest Facilities Manager, has 30 years of commercial diving experience in the US Navy and the private sector.

Below (L-R): Andreas A Tsavliris; Greek singer Nana Mouschouri; Prince Albert II of Monaco; Princess Charlene of Monaco.

been dedicated to protecting the global environment for decades.

Smit starts work on Yemen FSO SAFER

Smit Salvage reports “another busy quarter with high level salvage and wreck removal projects around the world.”

Work has been progressing on several projects related to the offshore industry; both in traditional oil and gas, as well as the newer offshore wind industry.

One of these cases concerns a major wreck removal operation of an offshore structure in Asia which has recently commenced and is “progressing well”. In other cases during the quarter, Smit assisted with stabilising and transporting an aged FPSO, as well as supporting an offshore wind project in which wrongly installed structures have been inspected underwater and prepared for removal.

Another major ongoing project of Smit is the FSO SAFER in Yemen (above), which has been reported widely in the international media. Over the past period, good progress has been made by the Smit team to prepare the FSO SAFER for the oil transfer phase of the operation. Recent work has focused on inspecting and reinstating equipment on the vessel.

It includes various winches required for the mooring operation as well as the stripping pumps to facilitate the transfer of the last remains of the cargo to the replacement oil tanker alongside the FSO. And the underwater inspection of the hull by a team of professional divers has been completed.

In addition to the Boskalis-owned multipurpose vessel NDEAVOR which is acting as the main working platform, two tugboats owned by Smit Lamnalco have

also arrived on site. These tugboats will assist with the berthing of the replacement tanker when she arrives.

Oil booms will be installed as a precautionary measure during the ship-to-ship transfer of the oil. Besides the operational challenges on board the vessel, significant efforts are being made to cooperate well with the stringent requirements of the client, the United Nations, local communities and various sub-contractors. The project is expected to be completed by early Q3 2023.

Elsewhere Smit was involved in the traditional field of providing emergency response to vessels in peril. At the end of April a general cargo vessel ran aground in the Northwest of Iceland. The vessel was laden with a cargo of salt and remained aground for several days. Smit Salvage was appointed by the vessel interests and collaborated with the local

Coast Guard and local services suppliers. With joint efforts, and allowing for the weather and swell, the heavily damaged vessel was refloated. She was then stabilised with partial cargo and bunker offloading and finally prepared and towed to a more sheltered location for redelivery to the owners.

Also in April, a bulk carrier ran aground in the Southeast of Philippines (below). The vessel was laden with a cargo of nickel ore. Smit Salvage worked with their partners Malayan Towage & Salvage for this project and commenced a complex and intensive lightering and refloating operation.

Smit said the remoteness of the location and severity of the grounding made it a “challenging operation”. The vessel was safely refloated and Smit and its local partner’s divers carried out emergency repairs to the bottom of the vessel.

Raul y Negro operations in Argentina and Uruguay

In December 2022, the Taiwan-flagged bulker TAI KNIGHTHOOD suffered major hull damage while leaving the port of Necochea, Argentina, when it struck the rocks of the port breakwater.

Loaded with 72,000 tonnes of soybeans, it heeled 7 degrees to port and increased its draft dangerously and was unable to continue its voyage to China. The vessel was assisted with an escort tug, divers and salvage equipment to Golfo Nuevo (Puerto Madryn), where a temporary repair was carried out with 10m long by 4m high, formed steel patches built on

board and bolted to the hull.

Once the water had been removed from the flooded tanks, cement filled metal boxes approved by IACS and the Authorities were constructed and the vessel was able to complete her safe voyage to destination with all her cargo on board.

In the same period, the Floating Dock No 2 of Tsakos Industrias Navales in Montevideo, Uruguay, with 5 fishing vessels under repair on its platform, began to sink uncontrollably causing the

capsize and sinking of the Korean flagged No 77 OCEAN.

Raul Negro y Cia. in association with Servicios Maritimos S.A. of Uruguay, as local support, performed the wreck removal of both.

First the fishing vessel was raised and refloated and later the dock was refloated due to its delicate structural condition after the accident. Both will be sent for scrap freeing the space for the installation of a new floating dock.

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1. No 77 OCEAN after floating dock disaster and then righted (2). 3. Patch ready for installation on TAI KNIGHTHOOD, and (4) after installation in dry dock.