OCTOBER 2010
INTERNATIONAL SALVAGE UNION
56th ISU General Meeting, Nice, France The International Salvage Union held its 56th General Meeting in Nice, France, 21-22 September 2010, with more than 90 delegates and their guests from the ISU’s 58 member companies in attendance. The meeting was hosted by French ISU member company, Les Abeilles. The meeting, chaired by ISU President, Todd Busch, was updated on the business of the ISU, its executive committee and professional advisers during the past year. ISU General Manager, John Noble, reported on developments in the review of the SCOPIC equipment rates.
and Special Casualty Representatives’ Committee meetings that have taken place during the year. Delegates also heard about the work of the Society for Underwater Technology and revisions to key BIMCO contracts as well as being shown the ISU’s refreshed and re-designed website; the results of the 2009 pollution prevention survey and other salvage industry statistics. Commenting on the proceedings,
ISU President Todd Busch said: “It is a pleasure to have had such a good attendance at this year’s general meeting. As usual we have covered a lot of ground dealing with both formal business and in informal discussions. These remain uncertain times for salvors. But it is gratifying to see the commitment that our members have to dealing with the issues that we face. And it is encouraging to see our members’ commitment to this industry which is vital to the shipping community and wider society.”
And, attending his last AGM as ISU Legal Adviser, Archie Bishop reported on international maritime matters; the work of the Comité Maritime International; environmental salvage and introduced his successor, Rob Wallis. Mr Bishop and ISU Secretary General, Mike Lacey, also reported on the discussions of the Lloyd’s Salvage Group and the SCOPIC
ISU President Todd Busch and delegates at the 2010 General Meeting.
ISU UPDATE New Executive Committee Members
LOF update
The ISU is pleased to welcome Fokko Ringersma, the Managing Director of Mammoet Salvage, and John Halfweeg, the Director of Salvage, SMIT Salvage, as new members of the ISU Executive Committee. It brings the committee to its full complement of 12 members.
Lloyd’s, ISU and others support the publication of Awards but, as yet, this has not been finalised by Lloyd's. In addition, a decision is awaited from Lloyd’s regarding the wording of a guarantee they will require from salvors before releasing any LOF Arbitration Award.
Salvage Conference ISU General Manager, John Noble, chaired and gave the keynote address at the ACI Maritime Salvage Conference in London in early September. The 51 delegates, including representatives from ISU members, considered the position of salvors as first line casualty responders and the investment made by salvage companies in purchasing, storage and maintenance of equipment. Manpower and training issues were also discussed together with the ever increasing safety regimes required in many jurisdictions.
has suggested shipowners should provide security – this is not favoured by owners. Similarly, LOF users are trying to find a way to streamline the procedure for notifying unrepresented cargo interests with the suggestion that notification to the relevant insurer should be sufficient.
There is concern that the Fixed Cost Arbitration Procedure (FCAP) is not being used as much as it might be. It is thought to be because the cap is too low and it is to be raised to US $2million.
New member
The issue of obtaining financial guarantees from cargo interests in containership cases continues to be difficult. Seeking security from the many thousands of different cargo interests is a great administrative burden and costly.
Address:
Suggestions have been made on modifications to the arrangements but no agreement has been reached. ISU 1
The ISU welcomes Teras Offshore to full membership.
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