Marine salvage services and an application for Turkey

Today there are many improvements in maritime safety in the world. In parallel, decreasing number of marine accidents started to cause the characteristics of demand for marine salvage services to change putting the marine salvage industry in operational and financial difficulties. Emergency response and pollution prevention has been important functions of marine salvage services. Maritime nations are in continuously working on improving maritime safety for pollution prevention, as the maritime traffic is constantly increasing. Modern salvage approaches such as; ERV (Emergency Response Vessel) systems are in practice in many maritime countries as a solution for pollution prevention. Turkey, standing on an important maritime geography, needs sufficient marine salvage capability on its coasts, as well, considering the increase in the maritime traffic. In determining the capability of marine salvage services in Turkish waters, as the purpose of this research, qualitative analysis of the experts? opinions are obtained by application of Delphi Technique, in addition to the literature survey and interpretation of secondary statistical data. As a result, some weaknesses in training, equipment, planning and organization elements of marine salvage are determined in the marine salvage capability in Turkish waters. Analysis of risk potential of Turkish coasts and improving salvage capability in high risk areas are recommended for improving coastal safety in Turkey.