The International Salvage Union (ISU) has reported an uptick in revenue for its members last year.
ISU members undertook 189 salvage operations which earned a gross revenue of $391m in 2021, compared to $301m in the previous year.
Lloyd’s Open Form (LOF) emergency response contracts brought in $122m in revenue, compared to $60m in 2020.
However, the number of LOF contracts — 29 compared to 40 in the previous year — represented a historic low the ISU said.
Wreck removal revenue was up to $108m from $98m.
Major salvage contracts for the ISU last year included the refloating of the grounded 20,388-teu ultra large containership Ever Given (built 2018) from the Suez Canal.
LOF president Nick Sloane said income in the salvage industry tends to be volatile. He added ISU members had managed to continue salvage services despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. He said that they had demonstrated problem solving skills and a “can do” attitude.
Difficult times
“Economic conditions are challenging and activity and income for our industry is volatile year-on-year,” he said.
“The numbers in this survey reflect the period when the world was still fully contending with the Covid pandemic which made operations and logistics more challenging. Throughout those difficult times ISU members showed time and again their problem solving and willingness to overcome obstacles to provide services to their clients, the shipowners, and their insurers,” Sloane said.
The ISU membership is made up of 50 salvage companies.
