2017 was a busy year for salvors

FORTUNES can change rapidly in a business because of bad luck or the bad judgement of others. That is certainly the case for marine salvage companies, or salvors, as illustrated by the latest statistics issued by their trade organisation, the International Salvage Union (ISU).

Just a few months ago, in early December, when speaking to journalists, ISU president Charo Coll warned: "The first thing to say is that the salvage industry has experienced a major drop in gross revenues in the last 18 months. The latest statistics are from 20…