International Salvage Union members saw gross revenue fall 53% to $190m in 2025 from $406m a year earlier as wreck-removal activity and income declined sharply, according to the International Salvage Union.
Wreck-removal revenue dropped 77% to $46m from $205m, while the number of projects fell to 18 from 40. The total number of services covered by the association’s financial survey declined to 166 from 191.
Emergency-response work generated about $144m, including $50m from Lloyd’s Open Form cases and $93m from operations under other contracts.
ISU members handled 18 Lloyd’s Open Form cases, down from 29 in 2024 and close to the historic low of 16 recorded in 2023. Revenue from those contracts fell 57% from $118m. Income under the Special Compensation P&I Club Clause, or SCOPIC, reached a historic low of $1.2m.
“The variability makes it hard to plan, and reduced income will affect investment decisions,” said ISU president Leendert Muller, who is also managing director of Netherlands-based Multraship Towage & Salvage.
Wreck removals and emergency-response operations normally contribute roughly equal shares of members’ income, but the collapse in wreck-removal earnings shifted the balance towards emergency response in 2025.
The figures record revenue when it is received rather than when the related casualty or salvage service occurred. Payments for major cases can take several years, and slower settlements mean the annual totals do not correspond directly to casualty activity in the same calendar year. Separate loss figures showed 43 total losses involving vessels of more than 100 GT in 2025, down from 79 in 2024.
For vessels above 500 GT, the total fell to 31 from 51. Shipping incidents involving vessels over 100 GT declined 16% to 2,818 from 3,353. The totals may later be revised as cases are confirmed, particularly those involving constructive total losses.
The International Salvage Union is a London-based trade association representing 60 professional marine salvage contractors.