More than a marine consultant with a good contacts book

The new President of the International Salvage Union (ISU) has outlined areas of concerns facing the industry and the importance of promoting trust and transparency between salvor and client.

“While I have no doubt about the value of the industry I have to say I have some serious concerns”. This was the message from Mr John Witte Jr at the ISU’s annual journalists’ lunch attended by MJ recently in London, after he started his two-year stint as ISU president in October.

Mr Witte is suitably qualified for the role holding the position of senior salvage master with Donjon Marine as well as managing the New Jersey-based company’s marine salvage, demolition, marine transportation and heavy lift operations. He also manages their shipbuilding and repair business on Lake Erie in Pennsylvania and was formerly president of the American Salvage Association. Donjon Marine’s fleet has over 60 vessels ranging from deck barges and dredgers to ocean-going anchor handling tugs.

The new president’s concerns cover familiar issues including: places of refuge, fewer Lloyd’s Open Forms being used, the risk of unfair criminalisation and responder immunity. But it is his main concern which is of interest as he explains: “It is to do with the reputation of the salvage industry. Not the day to day public relations but something more serious.” He expands by saying: “For some years we have become more and more aware that others in the shipping industry have a perception that some salvors are not behaving in the way they should – both with other contractors and with their clients: the owners and the insurers.”

He spoke of the historical image of marine salvors, making the analogy with old-time pirates and while it is now widely accepted the industry has moved on from that image he stresses there is still work to be done in the area of perception: “Now, whether it is true or not, there is an old saying that ‘perception is reality’ and so we need to address it. Trust and transparency should be the foundation of good business relationships”.

Clearly this is an area the ISU is keen to address and at their recent AGM in New York an open forum discussion was held where the issue was put on the table for the first time. It was clear there was general agreement among ISU members that there is a reputational risk which is damaging the industry as a whole and that recognising the problem is often the hardest step.

So what to do about it? Mr Witte had a clear message: “I can’t stand here today with a quick fix because that would be to diminish the challenge. But I can say that the ISU Executive Committee and management team are determined to do what is necessary to ensure that being a professional salvor is seen as an honourable role providing vital services to the shipping industry. There will inevitably be commercial disputes between clients and their contractors, it happens in all industry. But what we cannot have is general assumption that salvors are not to be trusted. After all, in many situations peoples’ lives depend on our actions.”

Asked by a former editor of a marine industry newspaper of the advantages of ISU membership, Rob Wallis, legal adviser to the ISU stated that while membership was not compulsory, underwriters hold salvors who are members in high regard. This of course comes back to the question of reputation and Mr Witte finished his comments by saying: “So message today is simple: ISU will not tolerate bad behaviour and will enforce its code of conduct if necessary.”

The issue was brought into perspective just days later when it was reported that former ISU president Andreas Tsavliris had resigned from the ISU’s executive committee after a disciplinary hearing issued a formal reprimand to Tsavliris Salvage Group. The hearing followed a complaint from another Greek salvor Five Oceans Salvage about alleged interference with their operations by Tsavliris Salvage on a number of occasions.

Away from sending out the message about the industry’s reputation Mr Witte paid tribute to the ISU’s previous president Leendert Muller who had: “done an excellent job leading our association” adding: “I don’t need to list all he that he has done but I want to highlight the way he has built up our relationship with insurers – notably the property insurers – and also the work he has done – especially with the European Union to make progress on Places of Refuge.” Mr Muller will continue as a member of the ISU Executive Committee.

Mr Witte reiterated the important, and often under-appreciated role of the professional marine salvage industry pointing out where (after the saving of life) protection of the environment is now a higher priority than the saving of property. While a number of emergency response organisations provide useful services to ship owners he said the professional salvage industry aims to prevent environmental damage happening in the first place by keeping the pollutant in the ship.

The ISU’s most recent financial figures (2014) show that in Lloyd’s Open Form cases alone, which are by no means all of their emergency response work, their members salved US$1.2bn of other peoples’ property (ships and cargo) that was in peril, overall providing 249 services.

Mr Witte described eloquently the work of the organisation he is now president of stating: “ISU members are well-capitalised, well-equipped, experienced operators willing to take on jobs at their own risk. They offer something more than a marine consultant with a good contacts book.”

The ISU represents the interests of 60 major salvors and 72 associate members worldwide with full membership restricted to those with a record of successful salvage and pollution prevention, a high level of expertise is an essential requirement.