RCCNZ Praised for Missing Schooner Search Effort
The search for the missing schooner 'Nina' by the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) in June-July 2013 went beyond what many overseas authorities would have conducted, an independent reviewer has found. RCCNZ explain that David Baird, former General Manager of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Emergency Response Division, conducted the independent review at the request of Maritime New Zealand Director Keith Manch. The reviewer found: “In many areas RCCNZ went well beyond the requirements of the SAR Convention and its Standard Operating Procedures, demonstrating conviction, compassion and determination to achieve a satisfactory result.
ISU Warns that Environmental Salvage is Undervalued
Salvage services with environmental objectives are undervalued, according to the International Salvage Union. ISU President Joop Timmermans told some 200 delegates at the March 2003 Fourth International Marine Salvage Conference: “In the ISU’s view, environmental defense – as a function of salvage – is undervalued. The ISU–sponsored conference was held at the London headquarters of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Joop Timmermans said the salvor’s reward for his traditional role, property recovery, was related to the value of that property. As for any additional value placed on environmental – or public interest – salvage services, the Special Compensation provided under Article 14 of the Salvage Convention is confined, essentially, to the reimbursement of expenses.
