About Salvage Services

Omur Salvage Co. Ltd

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As of December 2005, Omur Salvage was consolidated to Med Group of Companies.

Omur Salvage Co. Ltd was formed in the second half of 1992, and is a member of International Salvage Union since 1998. However, the salvage experience of our core-team of directors, managers and personnel dates back to the previous decade, when in 1982 we started to operate as a family firm under the name of Istanbul Salvage and Wreck Removal Co. Ltd. Despite being quite small and conducting salvage work and harbour repairs exclusively around the Turkish coast at the beginning, Istanbul Salvage almost doubled its turnover every year. When we considered the company experienced enough, we began to undertake work abroad. The first operation outside of Turkish waters was the wreck-removal of the "KAPTAN SAIT OZEGE" in Vlora, Albania for Standard P&I Club in1988. Thereafter, growth was even more pronounced, the company found itself engaged in projects in many places around the world, including Yemen, Socotra Island, the Red Sea and Russian part of the Black Sea. 

As we expanded into the international arena, we had the necessity to compete with other international salvage companies. Our efficiency and cost-effectiveness led us to frequently be awarded contracts in the face of strong, well-established international companies. During the time of our operations, both casualty salvage and wreck-removals were flawlessly performed. 

Meanwhile, we purchased an AHTSV, a dredging vessel, crawler cranes and many assorted salvage equipments. These investments enabled us to broaden our scope of operations, for instance enabling us to tackle the concurrent wreck-removals of the "C.EREGLI" and the "NEJMAT EL PETROL XVIII" during the winter of 1990. 

In early 1990, an outsider with no previous maritime experience joined the company. Following unfortunate irreconcilable differences of opinions between him and ourselves we left the company (its name and all of its equipment). Then, we founded and set up Omur in 1992. Because of our personal reputation, our business grew rapidly. Despite of the competition from Istanbul Salvage (with the assistance of the formidable Nan Halfweeg of Princess Marine) as well as other local firms, Omur Salvage has carried out all the salvage cases extant within Turkish waters except those in the monopoly area of the State body, the Turkish Maritime Organization.

Since Omur's formation, we have completed a wide variety of salvage work, including rescue towages, groundings, the refloating of partially sunken vessels, fire-fighting, pollution combat and wreck-removal. Throughout 1994 and 1995 Omur performed an average of 12 salvage operations per annum, which were mainly LOF cases with some wreck-removal, and over 65% of all these were outside of Turkey. The new year of 1995 was particularly busy with 4 cases simultaneously ongoing; one in Holland, one in Italy, another in the Dardanelles, and a wreck-removal in the Black-Sea coast of Turkey.

During Omur's lifetime, we have also made substantial investments in hardware, purchasing assorted equipment, dredging unit hydraulic pumps, a crawler crane, a fully equipped 3,500 bhp salvage tug and the "OCEAN ERGUN". These investments in hardware continue with projects underway to design and commission air-mobile fire-fighting packs and also to purchase pollution prevention equipment in the form of oil-skimmer. We are also engaged in the ongoing training of personnel for salvage work as the special know-how required for trade is not such that is readily found. Our ongoing commitment to salvage led us to be accepted as a member of the International Salvage Union in 1998.

Although we have occasionally used Turkish Open Form (TOF), the bulk of our work is performed under Lloyd's Open Form, and we pride ourselves that Omur Salvage enjoys a strong international reputation amongst underwriters, insurance companies and ship-owners /managers in general. This attributes to a number of factors:

  • Firstly, we have never left a job unfinished, even when situations were seemed hopeless, or expenses started to grossly outweigh the benefits of a successful completion.

  • Secondly, there has never been an operation in which we were unsuccessful.

  • Thirdly, we are known for being amenable to amicable settlements always preferring to avoid litigation wherever possible.