At a Lloyd’s Form arbitration which I well recall back in about 1970, a very junior member of the Bar whose scientific expertise outweighed, at that time, his shipping experience, submitted that the grounded tanker which he represented was not in as desperate need of salvage services as first impressions suggested. True, he agreed, she was hard aground, but she could in fact have refloated herself without the need of salvors, as his calculations suggested that she would come afloat if a few thousand tons of oil were jettisoned. He was not representing the cargo interests, and was therefore content to recognize that part at least of the cargo could be regarded as being at risk of total loss, and that the doctrine in The Velox [1906] P. 263 would enable the arbitrator to make a differential award with a greater proportion to be borne by cargo than by ship, bearing in mind that the ship was exposed only to the risk of immobilization.

A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then. The junior counsel involved is now a highly respected Q.C., the Velox doctrine is under attack, if not, as some would have it, extinct, and the threat of even minor pollution is of infinitely greater consequence than the loss of several thousand tons of oil in spite of its greatly increased value following the OPEC-led price rises.

Even in 1970, the submission that it was feasible to jettison a few thousand tons of oil was received by the arbitrator and the other parties present with considerable incredulity. Not even the greenest (in the sense of “raw”, rather than “environmentally conscious”) barrister would now even contemplate making such a submission, as, although much more water will still have to flow under the proverbial bridge before “liability salvage” is regarded by most as anything other than a heretical concept, the law of salvage has, in a few short years, already been extended far beyond its origins as a means of rewarding the saving of property.

Mr Vincenzini’s book represents an invaluable summary in 125 concise pages (excluding appendices), of the recent history of the law of salvage. The style is at times a little too laconic for relaxed reading in an armchair or an aeroplane seat, but the book is a fascinating