Salvors help save the planet, not just the economy

THE recent stranding and then successful refloating of the container ship Ever Given by the Suez Canal Authority and two major global salvage companies were unusual. They were maritime incidents that grabbed the media's attention but weren't environmental disasters.

Without the benefit of a crystal ball to tell him what would happen a few days later, the president of the International Salvage Union (ISU), Richard Janssen, chose environmental protection as his main theme when speaking at the organisation's recent Associate Members' Day 2021. The ISU represents most, but nor all, firms engaged in salvage and wreck removal.

He pointed out that two 'non-political' figures have become highly influential globally and have become universally recognisable. He continued: "One is an elderly gentlemen the other a teenager. They are David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg. I name them because they are the most visible figureheads of a changed world in which care for the environment has become possibly the most important driver of political and business decision making."