Prevent pollution through salvage

In all they carried 1,655,399 tonnes of potentially polluting cargoes during operations in 2014 demonstrating the value of the sector’s work towards protecting the marine environment.

Leendert Muller, president of the ISU, said: “We represent a vital service to both the shipping industry and wider society. Shipping has generally become safer but everyone in the industry should be aware that just one major casualty could cause an environmental disaster.”

The numbers are published in the ISU’s 2014 Pollution Prevention Survey, which has been updated to take into account the huge growth in containerised cargo.

For the first time, the survey records dirty or hazardous bulk cargo and containers separately (by tonnes equivalent).

By Anne-Marie Causer