A salvage tug, known also historically as a wrecking tug, is a specialized type of

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

that is used to rescue ships that are in distress or in danger of sinking, or to salvage ships that have already sunk or run aground.

Overview

Few tugboats have ever been truly fully dedicated to salvage work; most of the time, salvage tugs operate towing barges, platforms, ships, or performing other utility tugboat work. Tugs fitted out for salvage are found in small quantities around the globe, with higher concentrations near areas with both heavy shipping traffic and hazardous weather conditions. Salvage tugs are used by specialized crew experienced in salvage operations (

salvor Marine salvage is the process of recovering a ship and its cargo after a shipwreck or other maritime casualty. Salvage may encompass towing, re-floating a vessel, or effecting repairs to a ship. Today, protecting the coastal environment from ...

s). Their particular equipment includes: * extensive towing provisions and extra tow lines/cables, with provisions for towing from both bow and stern and at irregular angles * extra cranes * firefighting gear ** deluge systems ** hoses ** nozzles * mechanical equipment such as: ** common mechanical repair parts ** compressed air gear ** diving equipment ** steel for hull patches ** welding equipment * pumps

Modern development

The total demand for salvage tug services is significantly down from its peaks in the years around World War II. The increasing sensitivity of societies and legal systems to

environmental damage Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; and pollution. It is defin ...

and the increasing size of ships has to some extent offset the decline in the number of salvage operations undertaken. Accidents such as major oil tanker groundings or sinkings may require extensive salvage efforts to try to minimize the environmental damage such as that caused by the ''Exxon Valdez'' oil spill, or the ''

Amoco Cadiz ''Amoco Cadiz'' was a VLCC (very large crude carrier) owned by Amoco Transport Corp and transporting crude oil for Shell Oil. Operating under the Liberian flag of convenience, she ran aground on 16 March 1978 on Portsall Rocks, from the coast ...

'' and ''

Torrey Canyon SS ''Torrey Canyon'' was an LR2 Suezmax class oil tanker with a cargo capacity of of crude oil. She ran aground off the western coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom, on 18 March 1967, causing an environmental disaster. At that time she was the l ...

'' disasters.

In popular culture

In film

*'' The Key'', based on a novel by

Jan de Hartog Jan de Hartog (April 22, 1914 – September 22, 2002) was a Dutch playwright, novelist and occasional social critic who moved to the United States in the early 1960s and became a Quaker. Biography Early years Jan de Hartog was born to a Dut ...

, is about WWII

Admiralty tug Admiralty tugs were tugboats built for and operated by the Royal Navy. These were vessels built to Admiralty specifications and in specific classes during the First and Second World Wars. They were built to meet the Royal Navy's demand for au ...

operations. * In 1943,

Jacques Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). T ...

's team made the film ''Épaves'' (''Shipwrecks''). * ''

Ghost Ship A ghost ship, also known as a phantom ship, is a vessel with no living crew aboard; it may be a fictional ghostly vessel, such as the ''Flying Dutchman'', or a physical derelict found adrift with its crew missing or dead, like the ''Mary Celest ...

'' is a film about an ocean liner which disappeared in mysterious circumstances and is discovered by a maritime salvage contractor.

In television

*'' Shipwreck Men'' (2013) is a reality TV series that follows crews who salvage and raise wrecked vessels.

In literature

Farley Mowat Farley McGill Mowat, (May 12, 1921 – May 6, 2014) was a Canadian writer and environmentalist. His works were translated into 52 languages, and he sold more than 17 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the Can ...

's historical books '' The Grey Seas Under'' and ''The Serpent's Coil'' detail North Atlantic salvage operations in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s by salvage tugs operated by the firm Foundation Maritime. *

Wilbur Smith Wilbur Addison Smith (9 January 1933 – 13 November 2021) was a Zambian-born British-South African novelist specialising in historical fiction about international involvement in Southern Africa across four centuries, seen from the viewpoints ...

's novel

Hungry as the Sea ''Hungry as the Sea'' is a 1978 Wilbur Smith Wilbur Addison Smith (9 January 1933 – 13 November 2021) was a Zambian-born British-South African novelist specialising in historical fiction about international involvement in Southern Africa a ...

is a tale about the master of a salvage tugboat and her operations

References

: '' The Grey Seas Under: The Perilous Rescue Mission of a N.A. Salvage Tug'' (on the salvage career of the tug ''

Foundation Franklin SS ''Foundation Franklin'' was a seagoing salvage tug built for the Royal Navy as HMS ''Frisky'' in 1918. In 1924, the tugboat was sold and renamed ''Gustavo Ipland'' before being acquired in 1930 by Foundation Maritime and renamed ''Foundation ...

''). The Lyons Press, 2001, (First published as ''The Grey Seas Under'', Little, Brown & Co., 1958, )
A Reassessment of the Marine Salvage Posture of the United States
ed National Research Council Committee on Marine Salvage Issues, Marine Board, Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems., National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1994

External links

International Salvage Union
trade association for salvage tugs
''International Tug and Salvage'' magazine, website

''Salvage World'' magazine, International Salvage Union
also available online at www.marine-salvage.com * Sampling of salvage companies *

a US-based tug and salvage company *

a Greek maritime company with salvage operations *
Resolve Marine Group
a Global US based maritime emergency response company. *
Smit Internationale
*
SvitzerWijsmuller
*
Titan Salvage
a Global US based salvage company with offices around the world. *
United Salvage
a UK/Australian/South Pacific salvage company {{DEFAULTSORT:Salvage Tug Tugboats Marine salvage