Legal Definitions - salvage award

A salvage award is the compensation paid to individuals or companies (known as salvors) who voluntarily and successfully rescue a vessel or its cargo from danger at sea. This payment is intended to reward the effort, skill, and risk taken by the salvors in preventing greater loss or destruction of property. The amount of the award is typically determined by a court or arbitrator, considering factors such as the value of the property saved, the degree of danger, the skill and efforts of the salvors, and the expenses incurred.

Here are some examples illustrating a salvage award:

• Example 1: Rescue of a Disabled Cargo Ship
  A large container ship loses engine power during a severe storm and drifts dangerously close to a rocky coastline. A specialized maritime salvage company dispatches a powerful tugboat, which manages to secure a tow line and pull the container ship away from the shore, eventually bringing it to a safe harbor. The container ship and its valuable cargo are saved from almost certain destruction.

  Explanation: The salvage company performed a voluntary and successful rescue of the container ship and its cargo from imminent peril. For their efforts, skill, and the risk taken, they would be entitled to a salvage award, typically a percentage of the value of the saved ship and its contents, determined by a court or arbitration.

• Example 2: Saving a Burning Yacht
  While on a fishing trip, a small commercial trawler spots a luxury yacht engulfed in flames several miles offshore. The trawler crew diverts their course, uses their onboard fire suppression equipment to extinguish the blaze, and then tows the damaged yacht to the nearest port, preventing it from sinking completely.

  Explanation: The crew of the fishing trawler voluntarily intervened to save the yacht from destruction. Their successful actions, which prevented a total loss, would make them eligible for a salvage award, calculated based on the value of the yacht they saved and the circumstances of the rescue.

• Example 3: Preventing an Oil Spill
  An oil tanker suffers a significant hull breach after colliding with an underwater object in international waters, threatening a massive environmental disaster. A professional salvage team quickly mobilizes, patches the breach, and transfers the remaining oil to another vessel, stabilizing the tanker and averting a catastrophic oil spill.

  Explanation: The salvage team's prompt and effective intervention not only saved the valuable tanker and its remaining cargo but also prevented immense environmental damage. Their successful efforts in mitigating both property loss and ecological harm would be recognized through a substantial salvage award.