In a very high proportion of cases where cargo oil is not involved, the first priority of the salvage team is to remove bunkers. In 2006, ISU members recovered over 72,000 tons of bunkers from 233 casualties.

During the third quarter of last year, a salvage team was engaged in removing pollutants from the bulk carrier 'New Flame' following this vessel’s collision with the tanker 'Torm Gertrud' off Gibraltar in August. The team recovered 780 m3 of fuel from the vessel, which became the subject of a wreck removal.

During the previous month a large salvage team had succeeded in removing the 'MSC Napoli' from its beached location off Branscombe in Devon UK. Unfortunately, the weakened state of the containership’s hull led to a prompt decision to rebeach it. Subsequently, the bow section was separated and towed to Belfast for scrapping. The stern is now the subject of a removal contract.

When this major salvage operation began at the very beginning of 2007 the clear priority was the removal of some 3,600 tons of bunkers from MSC Napoli. This was no easy task but it was performed successfully using a 'hot-tap' system to penetrate and pump out submerged bunker tanks. The next priority was environmental protection in a broader sense, discharging vulnerable deck containers so as to remove the potential risk of a mass release in violent storm conditions.

In June, ISU salvors responded when the bulk carrier 'Pasha Bulker' grounded off Newcastle in Australia. This incident happened in extreme weather at a position north of Sydney. Salvage personnel and equipment were brought in from three centres; Australia, Singapore and The Netherlands. The first task was the removal of 700 tons of bunkers prior to a refloating.

The reefer 'Sierra Nava' also became a casualty last year following a grounding off Algeciras Port in January. Salvors mobilised to remove pollutants, recovering some 350 tons of bunkers before vessel was refloated in March.

In some situations the salvor’s expertise permits work to proceed which, in other circumstances, would not be possible due to the potential for damage to the marine environment. One example last year was the wreck/debris clearance work undertaken by a number of ISU salvors in the wake of the devastation caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. In many instances, debris clearance, including the pulling of platform leg sections, took place in close proximity to live wells.