Andreas Tsavliris Leaves ISU After Reprimand

Salvage tug Tsavliris Giant with its tow, the unfinished Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag, in 2002 (file photo)

Former International Salvage Union president Andreas Tsavliris has departed the organization's executive committee, after a formal proceeding found his company at fault for interfering with a rival's operations.

Mr. Tsavliris told media that he left due to “a difference of views on certain things . . . I have always tried to do my best for the ISU, as a member, then vice-president and president. Now it’s time to move on.” He did not elaborate on the nature of the disagreement.

The ISU had reprimanded his company, Tsavliris Salvage, following complaints by competitor Five Oceans that Tsavliris had interfered with their operations several times over the last five years.

Five Oceans Salvage operates six AHTS salvage vessels stationed around the Meditteranean, Middle East, and Indian Ocean. It was formed in 2006 after senior members of Tsavliris' management team left his company to start their own.

Tsavliris Salvage operates a fleet of salvage vessels worldwide, including the world's most powerful tug, the Tsavliris Giant (ex FOTIY KRYLOV ).

Lloyd's List suggests that the rivalry between the two firms is intense, and perhaps especially so because they are leading users of the Lloyd's Open Form system for salvage contracting. The LOF system gives no specification of cost at the time of signing; an admiralty lawyer acting as arbitrator determines the damage award after the fact. $1 billion of property was recovered under LOF contracts in 2014.

The reprimand comes as the ISU works to combat what it describes as poor shipping industry perceptions of salvage operators. The organization's new president, Mr. John Witte, has pledged to clean up the salvage business. “ISU will not tolerate bad behaviour and will enforce its code of conduct if necessary,” he said. “For some years we have become more and more aware that others in the shipping industry have a perception that some salvors are not behaving in the way they should . . . now, whether it is true or not, there is an old saying ‘perception is reality’ and so we need to address it.”