Page 43: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 2013)

www.marinelink.com 43Capt. Kalia rightly points out that while unpredictable, there will always be a need for salvage, as no matter how so-phisticated the technology and the build, human mistakes ? as well as technical failure ? invariably happen, particularly in the demanding marine environment.?More than 400 shipping casualties oc-cur globally each year,? said Capt Kalia. ?The complexity and cost of these op-erations are increasing. Though there are around 60 members currently enrolled with International Salvage Union, there is enough business for established play-ers and newcomers. Financial strength, endurance, diversiÞ cation and appetite for risk are some of the governing fac-tors.?GOL Salvage is unique in that all of its assets are registered under Indian Flag, many of which are operating in Indian waters, helping to effectively reduce de- lays and costs. Capt Kalia said that since their ofÞ ces, warehouses and assets were strategically located on both the east and west coasts of India, it is naturally in a better position to provide a quick response and cost effective quality ser- vice to clients without any delays arising due to logistics, mobilization of assets, equipment and clearances from various Indian authorities.In addition to marine salvage, wreck removal services and protection of ma-rine environment, GOL Salvage also offers a raft of other services, including lightering services, marine Þ reÞ ghting, shallow and deep water towing and an-chor handling, search and rescue servic-es, oil spill consultancy, barge and heavy crane lift operations, air and saturation diving and other emergency marine re- sponse. ?Using our unique in house, custom built world class DNV-approved off- shore ship/anchor handling, towing and crane handling simulator, we are able to simulate complex operations, carry out deployment in various weather / sea con-ditions / night / day operations and build the team?s experience ashore as well as at sea,? said Capt Kalia. ?Our simula-tors are integrated for complete salvage, OSR training, including creation of a va-riety of scenarios; provide team training across divergent groups between bridge, engineering and crane teams. The pres- ence of our group in the industry for three decades has not only enriched our combined experience and expertise, but has also beneÞ tted our team?s under- standing of local topographical condi-tions vide our extensive operations. No other national or international agency can claim to posses this edge.?Speaking about the transformation tak-ing place in the business, he said that salvaging has undergone a kind of meta- morphosis. The scenario is quite differ- ent today from what it was in the early 80s. Environmental concerns are more signiÞ cant today and play a far greater part in operations. For instance the bun-ker fuel capacity of modern day shipping is massive, with bulkers, box ships, tank-ers and cruise liners having fuel carrying capacities well in excess of 5,000 tons.On another front the protection of the marine environment has gained domi-nance while undertaking salvage opera-tions. The mission is to ?keep the pol- lutants in the ship?. The next generation container ships with 18,000 TEU capac- ity present equally big challenges to the salvage community. With the shipping industry experiencing the worst reces-sion ever, how the industry matches the demands of heavy capital investment to cater to the ever growing tonnage will determine how proliÞ c the salvage busi-ness will be in the next generation.Mike Foster - Vice President, General [email protected]CELL ssKyryll Karayev P.E. - Repair Yard Manager, Dry Dock Master [email protected]CELL ssTom Johnson - Vice President [email protected]CELL ssMR #10 (42-49).indd 43MR #10 (42-49).indd 4310/2/2013 4:28:28 PM10/2/2013 4:28:28 PM