Smit Salvage is a division of Smit which is involved in emergency response, wreck removal operations and environmental care services. A short company portrait
Smit Salvage falls back on 200 in-house salvage specialists and a fleet of over 400 vessels, from large salvage[ds_preview] tugs and diving support vessels to ocean-going sheerlegs (with lift capacities of up to 5,000 t) and a wide range of barges, including the 24,000 dwt semi-submersible »Giant« vessels. Now part of the Boskalis family, Smit Salvage can also call on its fleet of over 1,200 vessels and floating equipment, together with the engineering, survey, global network and logistics capabilities of its ultimate parent.
Different markets
Insurance markets around the world have distinct characteristics. Traditionally, London has a »hands off« approach, only stepping in to deal with financial aspects of a claim once an operation is concluded. In contrast, the Scandinavian market is very much »hands on«, with the emphasis on early and direct involvement. Here, the aim is to optimise the result of the response and so minimise cost and downtime to the owner. The German market is substantial, both in terms of tonnage and its significant underwriting community. The German approach is rather proactive, with the emphasis on deploying in-house technical expertise (both the owner’s fleet organisation, together with underwriters and technical support).
Smit Salvage welcomes the fact that German interests tend to have claims and technical management experience in-house, as this often means a faster and more appropriate response during the critical early phase. This approach tends to be characterised by a cooperative manner, which increases efficiency and optimises the response and the subsequent claims settlement process. Many larger German shipowners tend to favour a proactive attitude towards salvage. Responding to this, Smit has formalised a number of existing relationships by entering into »pre-agreements«.
Client profiles
Smit Salvage clients include shipowners and vessel managers, insurers, cargo owners and their underwriters, governments and local authorities. In the emergency response role, Smit’s key objective is to mobilise rapidly, intervene promptly and swiftly secure some degree of control over the acute emergency. This then creates the time required to develop the response, protect the environment and property and improve the status of the casualty. Typically, the principal objective is to redeliver the vessel and cargo, in a safe condition and at a safe location.
Many success factors in salvage focus on human capital and qualities, including the ability to perform effectively in a team environment and the use of excellent communications skills. It is vital to increase awareness and understanding of the risks in abnormal situations and clarify technical issues surrounding a viable salvage plan.
Human expertise
Smit’s salvage personnel include Salvage Masters (1st/Capt.), who are expert in matters of operational command, together with salvage supervisors, naval architects, engineers, divers and other specialists in diverse disciplines such as pumping, firefighting, safe working in hazchem environments, ship-to-ship transfer and machinery preservation. These teams work within central guidelines and are supported by an infrastructure of regional offices and claims and awards department.
In 1994, Smit introduced its Managing Marine Emergencies course. This four-day programme, presented twice a year at Rotterdam headquarters, offers practical training in the essential skills and procedures required to control a shipboard emergency, pending the arrival of salvage assistance.The course is open to shipowners and managers, P&I Clubs, underwriters, Coast Guard personnel, port authority staff and classification societies. The course, recognised under The Law Society’s Continuing Professional Development Scheme, covers issues range from crisis management skills and team-working to contracting, insurance, legal considerations and media response.
Recent track record
The casualty with high public profile in recent months is undoubtedly the cruise vessel »Costa Concordia«. Smit’s workload included a contract to remove oils and waste water from this casualty. A total of 17 tanks were involved. Smit’s project team recovered 2,400 t of HFO and 200 t of diesel oil. A hot-tap system was used to penetrate tanks prior to pumping. This work was completed on 24 March. During the first quarter another Smit Salvage team removed bunkers from the chemical tanker »Gelso M«, which went aground off Augusta (Sicily) during a violent storm.
Just a few weeks ago, Smit was contracted to lead the salvage operations for the 6,732 TEU container vessel »MSC Flaminia«. After the ship caught fire on 14 July en route from Charleston to Antwerp, it was abandoned in the Atlantic 1,000 miles off the shore. The salvors brought the fire under control and stabilised the vessel by pumping water from the cargo holds into the ballast water tanks. In mid-August, the vessel had been moved by tugs to a position more than 400 NM west of the English Channel, waiting for a permission to enter a sheltered area or a subsequent emergency port.
Another recent case was the chemical tanker »Stolt Valor«, which suffered a midships fire and explosion whilst in Middle Eastern waters. Smit Salvage was awarded a Lloyd’s Form and after an intense first few days the fires were extinguished. The bunkers were then taken off and the cargo was transferred to a lightering tanker. In the meantime, »Stolt Valor« has been docked
at the Arab Ship Building and Repair Yard Company (ASRY) in Bahrain.
In the Far East, Smit Salvage and Nippon Salvage were awarded a Lloyd’s Form on the 180,000 dwt bulk carrier »Ocean Corona«, laden with iron ore. This vessel developed a forward trim problem at a position some 700 NM south-west of the Sunda Strait. The salvors despatched a tug and a salvage team equipped with pumps, diving gear and cutting/patching equipment.
Several casualty assignments also included South America. The laden bulk carrier »Aristeas P« grounded in the Parana River in mid-January. This casualty was refloated following the part-discharge of her cargo of soya pellets. A second grounding in the Parana involved the bulk carrier »Nord Barcelona«, which was carrying grain. This vessel was refloated without the need for cargo discharge. A third case concerned the »Buenos Aires Express«, towed to safety following an engine room fire whilst off the Brazilian coast.
Operations in February spanned the refloating of the geared general cargo vessel »Le Shan«, which grounded off Tema (Ghana) with a cargo of steel products and dumper trucks. The final quarter of 2011 was also busy: In December, Smit Salvage and French partner Les Abeilles joined forces to respond to a grounding involving the general cargo vessel »TK Bremen«, which beached near Lorient during a storm. A salvage inspection revealed significant damage and a conventional refloating was ruled out. The casualty’s bunkers were removed and work then began on the removal of this CTL (constructive total loss). The clearance was completed within one month.
In October 2011 the RoRo vessel »Republicca Argentina« grounded near the Scheldt’s »Bend of Bath«. URS (part of Smit) and Multraship tugs responded and the RoRo ship was refloated later that same day.
Major projects
Following the Boskalis merger, there is now renewed emphasis within Smit on tendering for major project works. In many cases, wrecks must be removed as they pose a threat to safe navigation or obstruct access to a port or terminal. Projects of this type often require very substantial assets, including floating sheerlegs, pull-barges, large pontoons and a variety of other salvage and support vessels.
The need for an extensive mobilisation is underlined by cases such as the »Tasman Spirit«, a 90,000 dwt tanker which broke in two in the approaches to the port of Karachi. This was an extremely challenging operation, with the problems of strong currents, zero visibility for divers and access difficulties compounded by the fact that the wreck was sitting in a 6 m deep trench. Nevertheless, a fleet of tugs, barges and sheerlegs successfully removed the wreck within a three-month period.
Smit’s major wreck removal track record contains many remarkable operations, such as the recovery of the Russian nuclear submarine »Kursk«, the lifting of the Japanese fisheries vessel »Ehime Maru« (from 600 m depth) and the removal and demolition of the vehicle carriers »Tricolor« and »Hyundai 105«. Recent operations concerning pollution prevention include many contracts for the removal of bunkers and cargoes, with the recoveries often undertaken in extraordinarily difficult circumstances. The oil removal from the »Costa Concordia« follows Smit’s successful project last year to recover oil from the wreck of the tanker »Kyung Shin« – which went down off the south-eastern coast of Korea in 1988. The assignment was undertaken on behalf of the Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation. This stopped persistent oil seepage from the wreck, located in 100 m of water.
Constant evolution
Smit R&D has been very productive in recent years. The outcomes include an remote offloading system and hot-tap equipment used to penetrate and pump out the tanks of casualties and wrecks which might otherwise prove inaccessible. Smit’s deepwater oil recovery tool can offload bunkers and oil or chemical cargoes from wrecks at considerable depth. This technology forms the heart of a system for the diverless recovery of pollutants. Capabilities here are further enhanced by Smit’s new work class remote operated vehicles (ROVs), operated by Smit Subsea.
Smit’s arsenal of salvage equipment includes a wide array of special systems, from the Cobra firefighting lance (of particular value in dealing with container fires) to Dyneema long-range towing gear (developed to assist in shallow water refloating operations). The heavy equipment includes the HDW1, a gigantic 600 t grab. Smit also has an extensive range of air and saturation diving systems, together with survey and work class ROVs.
Current R&D focuses on the development of novel pumping techniques, new systems for heating heavy oils underwater and devices for the subsea detection of the oil/water interface within submerged tanks (by using neutron backscattering technology).
Challenges ahead
More than ever before, it is important to appreciate the significance of the differing approaches to salvage and wreck removal taken in various jurisdictions worldwide. In the US, for example, OPA 90 has very specific requirements for emergency preparedness and response. For this reason, Smit joined forces with US salvor Donjon in 2005 to the Donjon-Smit joint venture.
The challenges of salvage increase in line with a steady growth in ship size and complexity. There are also important logistical issues to resolve in relation to large container vessels. These challenges have already been highlighted not long ago by casualties such as the »MSC Chitra« or the »Rena« case in New Zealand. Yet these ships are of relatively modest size, when compared to the 14,000 TEU giants.
Against this background, Smit Salvage invests in personnel and technologies to ensure effective, timely casualty responses in case of ultra large emergency response and salvage projects.
