Page 8: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 1996)

1989 Salvage Convention To Enter Into Force

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TYFON •loading calculators • levelgauging systems •boiler cleaning equipment -signalling equipment (((•))) Kockum Sonics ~ - a sound business. rewarded for his or her services if operations are successful.

Although this basic philosophy has worked well in most cases, it does not take pollution into account. A salvor who prevents a major pol- lution incident but does not man- age to save the ship or the cargo receives nothing. There is there- fore little incentive for a salvor to undertake an operation which has only a slim chance of success.

The new Convention seeks to remedy this deficiency by making a provision for an enhanced sal- vage award, taking into account the skill and efforts of salvors in preventing or minimizing damage to the environment. It further introduces a "special compensa- tion" to be paid to salvors who have failed to earn a reward in the normal way.

Damage to the environment is defined as "substantial physical damage to human health or to marine life or resources in coastal or inland waters or areas adjacent thereto, caused by pollution, cont- amination, fire, explosion or simi- lar major incidents."

The compensation will consist of the salvor's expenses, plus up to 30 percent of these expenses if, due to the efforts of salvor, envi- ronmental damage has been mini- mized or prevented. The salvor's expenses are defined as "out-of- pocket expenses reasonably incurred by the salvor in the sal- vage operation and a fair rate for equipment and personnel actually reasonably used." The tribunal or arbitrator assessing the reward may increase the amount of com- pensation to a maximum of 100 percent of the salvor's expenses, "if it deems it fair and just to do so."

On the contrary, if the salvor is negligent and has consequently failed to prevent or minimize envi- ronmental damage, special com- pensation may be denied or reduced. Payment of the reward is to be made by the vessel and other property interests in propor- tion to their respective salved val- ues.

The countries which have accepted the Convention are

Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt,

Greece, India, Iran, Italy, Jordan, the Marshall Islands, Mexico,

Nigeria, Oman, Saudi Arabia,

Sweden, Switzerland, United

Arab Emirates, the U.K. and the

U.S.

The International Convention on

Salvage — which was adopted in

April 1989 at a conference con- vened by the International

Maritime Organization (IMO), the

United Nations agency concerned with maritime safety and the pre- vention of marine pollution from ships — was scheduled to enter into force on July 14. It replaces a

Convention on the Law of Salvage adopted in Brussels in 1910.

The 1910 Convention incorpo- rates the "no cure, no pay" princi- pal, under which a salvor is only

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