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34 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News FEATURE MARITIME SALVAGE Risk and Reward. Perhaps in no other corner of the ma- rine business are this pair so closely linked as they are in marine salvage and firefighting. The inherent nature of the marine salvage business means equip- ment and personnel sometimes come into harm’s way; a risk mitigated by experi- ence, preparedness and quality and quan- tity of information on the job at hand. When operating vessels in and around the United States, risk is everywhere, par- ticularly if and when an accident occurs and cargo is accidentally discharged in U.S. waters. As readers of this publica- tion likely already know, the risk factor in and around the U.S. is set to rise much higher starting February 2011, courtesy of new OPA-90 regulations for the salvor and marine firefighter, regulations which dictates how and where vessel owners must be prepared if an accident happens. Intent on helping shipowners to man- age risk, enter Donjon and Smit, a pair of esteemed and storied salvage companies with cumulative experience of more than 200 years, creating an alliance – Donjon- Smit – specifically designed to fulfill one market niche: helping vessel owners nav- igate the potential perils of new OPA-90 regulations set to enter force in February 2011. Putting it simply: “This (collaboration) is a natural extension of what these com- panies have done for more than 200 years,” said John A. Witte Jr., Executive Vice President, Donjon Marine Co., Inc. “And everything being equal, if the OPA- 90 was not here, I think that Donjon and Smit would be providing a similarly high level of service.” OPA-90 The genesis of OPA-90 regulations are well recorded, born from the historic grounding and spill of the Exxon Valdez in Alaska’s Prince William Sound more than 20 years ago; an accident which res- onates still today in its material effects on owning and operating tanker vessels globally. In 2008, the U.S. Coast Guard published new OPA-90 Salvage and Ma- rine Firefighting regulations, in the form of 15 selection criteria (see complete list page 36) industry should examine when choosing the contracted provider of sal- vage and firefighting resources. “This (the publishing of 15 Prerequi- sites) ensures a capable field of marine salvors, eliminating literally hundreds of unqualified companies,” said Paul Hank- ins, Vice President Operations, Donjon- Smit, LLC. In addition to the 15 prerequisites, salvage companies and its clients must have a contracting mecha- nism in place before an incident, a con- tracting mechanism complete with a funding mechanism and rate sheet, said Hankins. Also, tight new rules regarding vessel and personnel response times to an inci- dent were put in place, a requirement that will cause vessel owners to take a second, and perhaps third, look at their contracted salvor to ensure compliance. “The bigger deal was to ensure that we could meet all of the response timing standards,” Hank- ins said. Enter Donjon-Smit OPA-90 Alliance There are many qualified and long- tenured salvage companies serving the U.S. market, but the executives of Don- jon and Smit are convinced that the Don- jon-Smit OPA-90 Alliance offers the industry’s most comprehensive, transpar- ent and efficient package of services. Heading the Donjon-Smit alliance is Paul Hankins, President, a seasoned industry veteran with a variety of experience in- cluding industry, navy and government. “This (Donjon-Smit, LLC) was set up as a completely separate operation, com- pletely focused on OPA-90 work.” Hankins stresses the importance of this point, noting that the sole focus affords him and his team an unobstructed view of client needs and service in this impor- tant area, which backed by the full sup- port of both Donjon and Smit, as well as assets from several key strategic partners, Donjon-Smit Teaming to Tackle OPA-90 Business by Greg Trauthwein Executives from Donjon-Smit - an OPA-90 Alliance, recently visited the New York City offices of Maritime Re- porter & Engineering News to discuss the new salvage and firefighting re- quirements of revised OPA-90 regs. Pictured from left are: John A. Witte Jr., Executive Vice Presi- dent, Donjon Marine Co., Inc.; Paul Hankins, President , Donjon-Smit, LLC; amd Douglas Martin, President and General Manager, Smit Salvage Amer- icas.
