Svitzer Salvage v Z Energy Limited and Another [2013] NZHC 2585: The Interaction between the Law of Salvage, the Law of Contract and the Salvage Convention in Circumstances of Duress

Abstract

With ongoing environmental developments in the maritime industry and the associated changes to the way in which salvage services are conducted, questions arise as to how the peculiar and ancient principles of salvage law should interact and develop with other areas of the law. These issues and developments were discussed in relation to a question of duress in salvage in the recent New Zealand High Court decision of Svitzer Salvage v Z Energy Ltd. The questions arising in light of this decision demonstrate the complex interaction between the common law, admiralty and the Salvage Convention 1989, in circumstances of duress in the conclusion of a salvage contract and the possible ways in which the law may evolve. The relationship between these three areas of law is nuanced and without the court being able to discuss these matters in great detail a discussion as to the various approaches that a court might ultimately take, with consideration of the rationale of salvage law and its place in the maritime world today, is warranted. Although the Court was unable to fully explore these approaches the case demonstrates the importance of salvage law today and how it may apply where duress is claimed in circumstances such as those encountered in the case of Svitzer Salvage v Z Energy Ltd.