Salvage: A Personal Odyssey

This is a vivid account of those ten tough years, including successes, failures, tows and rescues. A barge adrift in a hurricane in the English Channel. A freighter aground on a reef hundreds of miles from land with a tropical storm approaching. A trawler battered by the surf on a coral reef, its bottom ripped out. A tanker hit by a missle during the Gulf War of the 1980's. In addition to the casualties, the tugs themselves play a major role in the story, as do the crews and captains with whom the author worked. This book is a tribute to the seamanship, courage and resourcefulness of those men. It is a gripping account of drama at sea, and also an exploration of the technical, commercial and human issues behind the headlines

Captain Ian Tew joined Selco Salvage of Singapore in 1974. For more than 10 years, he learned the salvage trade in the busy waters of the Far East before rising to command some of the world's largest supertugs, eventually becoming a roving salvage master. He recounts the successes, failures, tows, and rescues of those years during peace and war time. In addition to the casualties, the tugs themselves play a major role in the story, as do the crews and captains with whom the author worked. The book offers an account of drama at sea, and explores the technical, commercial, and human issues behind the headlines. Color photos and maps are included. There is no subject index. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

The story covers the ten years Captain Ian Tew spent with Selco Salvage in Singapore and ranges from the UK coast to the South China Sea, from the Persian Gulf to the Southern Ocean. It involved performing salvage operations in storm force winds as well as in tropical calms. Captain Tew became Chief Officer on the newly acquired salvage tug SALVALIANT, and then went on to command the first of Selco's super tugs, the SALVANGUARD, salvaging the GLOBAL MARINER off the Eritrean coast in wartime. As a roving salvage master, he was involved with salvaging AL AHOOD. She had been hit by Iraqi fired Exocet missiles, set on fire and abandoned, and was said to be unsalvageable. This was the first commercial salvage to take place in a war zone. Captain Tew packed more adventure into ten years than many see in a lifetime. He worked when decisions had to be made and thinking on your feet was the key to success.