SMIT Salvage, a Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) subsidiary, has received two five-year marine salvage contracts to serve as the exclusive marine salvage and engineering support contractor for the US Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA).
SMIT Salvage will provide the US Navy with marine salvage, salvage-related towing, ocean engineering and towage services in the event of an emergency or incident in two of the three geographic zones in the world as defined by the US Navy.
SMIT Salvage held a contract for one zone covering the area between the Suez Canal and the dateline – the imaginary line down the Pacific Ocean on which the calendar day begins and ends – for a number of periods totaling more than 30 years, which it was able to renew. In addition, the contract for a second zone between the dateline and the US West Coast was successfully acquired.
With the award of the third and final contract to its US partner Donjon Marine, the companies are able to provide worldwide marine salvage support to the US Navy. SMIT Salvage and Donjon Marine established the joint venture Donjon-SMIT to provide salvage services to vessels trading in US waters under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA-90) and related US state regulations.