ISU: Fresh Thinking Needed
International Salvage Union (ISU) President Arnold Witte had called on all sectors of the shipping and insurance industries to approach the issue of salvage and spill prevention with “fresh thinking and open minds.” Speaking at the ISU’s Associate Members’ Day conference in London on April 2, he said the cost of failure to prevent pollution can run into billions. Against this background he urged the P&I community – responsible for payment of pollution claims – to accept that new approaches to reward for salvage and spill prevention have a significant role to play in reducing the financial impact of pollution claims and, at the same time, contributing to lower levels of ecological and economic damage.
Salvors Welcome New Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention
The world’s marine salvors have welcomed the International Maritime Organization’s adoption of a new Wreck Removal Convention (WRC). International Salvage Union (ISU) President Hans van Rooij says: “The new Convention clarifies many issues of importance to Coastal States and salvors. Times have changed and the main motivation for wreck removal today is often concern for the environment, rather than any threat to safety of navigation. The new convention defines a wreck-related hazard as a “danger or impediment to navigation” or a condition or threat that “may reasonably be expected to result in major harmful consequences to the marine environment…
