Saviours of the sea
See inside a salvage vessel and discover how it recovers ships and cleans up the sea
You don’t have to venture too far out into the ocean to feel completely isolated and alone. As the sea covers over 70 per cent of Earth’s surface, those who spend much of their lives boat-bound can travel over vast stretches of water each day. At any given time there are more than 50,000 cargo ships transporting goods overseas. This number doesn’t even account for the multitude of cruise ships, fishing boats, personal yachts and other vessels.
No matter how experienced you are at sailing the seas, or how colossal your ship, this environment can be frighteningly unpredictable. Sometimes nature’s plans are beyond the skilled hands of any expert seafarer. So what happens when an engine fails, the treacherous weather capsizes the boat or the captain’s misjudgement of the water’s depth results in a vessel running aground?
Luckily for the seafarers of today, communication technology means that seeking help can be as simple as tuning in to the local coastguard on the ship’s radio. There are organisations equipped for and dedicated to promptly assisting with such sea emergencies, deploying a rescue boat. This carries the tools to retrieve both people and their ships, whether their vessel is lost deep underwater or is being engulfed by a blazing fire. But while these organisations have become vital rescue tools and carry out procedures similar to a salvage operation, their work isn’t classed as salvage. For an operation to be classed as such, the rescuer will need to claim a salvage reward, which designated lifeboats won’t usually do.
The idea behind this paid rescue came about when courts decided that those at sea needed more incentive to volunteer to save lives. Before technology enabled disaster-stricken boats to seek help from the shore, a stranded ship’s crew could only scan the horizon, hoping for luck to be on their side. If by chance another boat was passing by, it was often in its occupants’ best interests to help out. Other than the satisfaction of saving lives, any voluntary rescuers are entitled to a reward for their intervention.
The cost to a troubled boat can be great, and so it’s common for a deal to be made between ships before any salvaging work takes place. Boat crews are then able to either accept or refuse to help. Today ships that fail to be salvaged can sink into the ocean, releasing large volumes of pollutants such as oil, fuel, plastic and other chemicals. For an intervention to be classed as true ‘salvage’, either the ship or its cargo needs to be saved from a situation which, without the assistance, would have led to its ruin.