Who will salvage salvage?

The salvage industry will not survive in its current form and in large part the Lloyd's Open Form (LOF) is to blame. This was the key point made by Martin Hall, of Clyde & Co, at the firm's recent Singapore marine conference. Hall explained that in the first five months of the year there were just 18 LOF contracts signed and reported to the Lloyd's salvage arbitration branch. While the century-old salvage form was "the only means to maintain the salvage industry" at present he said that it had come to be perceived as too expensive by insurers.