New developments in wreck removal and the ever-increasing size of ships provided the focus for the International Salvage Union’s London conference on March 7. Looking at the prospects for a new Wreck Removal Convention, the Institute of Maritime Law’s Richard Shaw warned that adoption of the draft at the May diplomatic conference in Nairobi was not a foregone conclusion. Richard Shaw said that the new Convention, if adopted, would provide comfort to harbormasters and shore authorities asked to provide refuge for marine casualties. He added that the convention provides freedom to contract. A Coastal State may not impose a particular salvor on an owner.