Also known as: maritime salvage · admiralty salvage · salvage
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An ancient maritime doctrine granting a salvor a right to compensation from the owner for rescuing imperiled property on navigable waters. The doctrine encourages efforts to save property from destruction and discourages embezzlement by salvors.
Captain Reyes spotted the freighter Pacific Star aground on a reef in the Gulf of Mexico. Without any prior agreement, Reyes and his crew boarded the vessel, refloated it, and towed it to safe harbor. The owner later paid Reyes a salvage award for the successful rescue.
Tug operator Harlan attempted to salvage the sinking barge Orion but caused additional hull damage through careless towing. The court granted Harlan a reduced salvage award after finding that the negligence diminished the value of the recovered property.
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A salvor must show that the property was imperiled on navigable waters, that the services were voluntary, and that the efforts succeeded in whole or in part. The hornbook emphasizes that these elements trace to ancient sea laws and serve policies of encouraging rescue while discouraging embezzlement.
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Negligence or misconduct by the salvor can reduce or eliminate the award. The hornbook addresses this directly in its section on the salvor's negligence and misconduct.
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Contract salvage arises when the parties agree in advance on the terms of the service and compensation. Pure salvage rests on the maritime doctrine that creates a right to compensation even without a prior agreement.
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…American courts under Bisso v. Inland Waterways Corp. , 349 U. S. 85 (1955), and Dixilyn Drilling Corp. v. Crescent Towing & Salvage Co. , 372 U. S. 697 (1963). Therefore, “[t]he district court was entitled to consider that remanding Zapata to a foreign forum, with no practical contact with the controversy, could raise a…