The International Convention on Salvage is a
treaty
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pe ...
that was concluded in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
on 28 April 1989 that replaced the
Brussels Convention on Assistance and Salvage at Sea
The Brussels Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules with Respect to Assistance and Salvage at Sea (french: link=no, Convention pour l'unification de certaines règles en matiere assistance et de sauvetage maritimes) is a treaty on marin ...
as the principal multilateral document governing
marine salvage.
The Convention's main innovation is that the scope of salvage law has been extended to cover "environmental salvage".
"No cure, no pay" and environmental salvage
The 1910 Brussels Convention had established the principle (known as "no cure, no pay") that a salvor is rewarded only if the salvage operation successfully rescues the ship or its cargo. The International Convention on Salvage expanded on this principle by introducing the concept of an "enhanced salvage award", which may be awarded by an arbitrator or a tribunal if the salvor took effective action to prevent or minimize environmental damage but nevertheless failed to salvage the ship or its cargo.
The 1989 Convention entered into force on 14 July 1996 and as of April 2016 has been ratified by 69 states representing 52 percent of the gross tonnage of the world’s merchant fleet. The impetus for the new Convention was the
LOF 1980 which permitted
salvage rewards to be made to
salvors who acted to limit damage to the coastal environment after oil spills.
Articles 13 & 14 of the Convention made provision for "Special Compensation", but ''
The Nagasaki Spirit
''The Nagasaki Spirit'' 997 is an English admiralty law case on marine salvage and on the provisions of Article 13 and 14 of the 1989 Salvage Convention.
The case identified problems with the drafting of the Convention, a response to which w ...
'' case revealed that the Convention had been poorly drafted and, rather than encouraging environmental salvors, instead it limited the amount that such salvors could be paid to mere "out-of-pocket expenses", with no allowance for any profit margin. This deficiency has since been addressed by the
SCOPIC Protection and indemnity insurance, more commonly known as P&I insurance, is a form of mutual maritime insurance provided by a P&I club. Whereas a marine insurance company provides "hull and machinery" cover for shipowners, and cargo cover for cargo ...
codicil to the LOF.
[Modern Maritime Law & Risk Management - 2nd ed. - Aleka Madaraka-Sheppard - 2007 -Informa]
See also
*
P&I Clubs
References
{{reflist
External links
International Convention on Salvage International Maritime Organization
Signatures and ratifications
Admiralty law treaties
Environmental treaties
1989 in London
1996 in the environment
Treaties concluded in 1989
Treaties entered into force in 1996
Marine salvage
Shipwreck law