In September 2021 three round tables took place on the topic of Russian proforma contract of salvage, on September 23rd at the 16th International exhibition-conference “NEVA 2021” and on September, 30th in Vladivostok at the Admiral G. Nevelskoy State Maritime University and in Saint-Petersburg at the Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy.

The roundtables were a mixture of online and offline, discussion-based and attracted audience from Primorsky Region, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg, countries of the Baltic region (Germany, Latvia, Finland, Sweden, Estonia), as well as England and Spain. The discussion brought together prominent maritime and international private law professionals, including experts, academics, maritime arbitrators, judges, shipmasters, and maritime lawyers.

The organizers posed a question to the participants of the discussions: What should be the content and form of a salvage contract? The discussion showed great interest of the maritime community both in Russia and abroad and ended with a single generalized conclusion: Russian pro-forma salvage contract shall be developed!

Main conclusions:

• a pro-forma salvage agreement in Russia is a necessity at a national level and should be international in its nature for participants of salvage operations;

• a pro-forma is necessary to establish a unified approach, in line with international and domestic law, established maritime practice with respect to the execution and performance of salvage contracts;

• a pro-forma should:

– be as brief, user-friendly and understandable as possible, to facilitate the execution of salvage contracts in extreme conditions;

– optimally ensure the balance of interests and protection of salvors and owners of salvaged property, as well as other participants of salvage operations and including insurers. The latter should be achieved by the compliance of the contract of salvage to the provisions of the International Convention on Salvage of 1989 and the Code of Merchant Shipping of the Russian Federation;

– ensure the enforceability of salvage contracts;

– take into account the public interest and its interference with the arbitration clause;

– be globally competitive in international shipping, i.e. it should take into account best practices, both domestic and foreign, in the application of similar proformas;

– minimise litigation arising out of and in connection with salvage operations before arbitral tribunals;

• the salvage contract should be agreed with the liability insurer;

• retain the principle of “No salvage, no remuneration”;

• provide for pre-arbitration dispute resolution, extensive use of conciliation, including negotiation and mediation, to resolve disputes relating to salvage operations, taking into account practices and trends in foreign jurisdictions. ■