THOSE in the salvage sector are the unsung heroes of shipping. But could that be a problem?

“We haven’t shouted loudly enough about our contribution to environmental protection,” International Salvage Union president Charo Coll explained in her keynote address to the sector’s biggest annual get-together in London earlier this week.

Pressure in the shape of intense competition, a reduced number of jobs, and generally lower income, has become acute.

There is an increasing resort to alternative contracts not intended for emergency situations requiring immediate response, and the erosion of the long-established but increasingly endangered looking species — the Lloyd’s Open Form system, which is being threatened by the use of side agreements.

Meanwhile, increasingly large and expensive vessels have shifted the perceptions of the insurance sector when it comes to salvage.

All that spells the need for change, and while salvors are a generally conservative bunch, not prone to revolutionary thoughts, there is a growing realisation that the salvage sector must evolve, quickly.

Diversification and consolidation has already started, but there’s more to come.

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