ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the 1989 London Salvage Convention and, through it, the attempt to further the public and broader social concern with environmental protection through the private law of salvage. It shows that, despite the clear environmental protection purpose that informed the drafting of the Convention, the instrument has not expanded upon the inherent limitations of salvage law. It maintained the essence of salvage law with added provisions ostensibly directed at environmental protection and the remuneration of salvors for such services. However, this system is not geared towards awards for environmental services that go beyond the linking of such services to the potential liability of the shipowner for environmental damage caused. Upon the assumption that the environment and its protection is of fundamental importance, the changes to the law of salvage brought about by the Convention simply do not go far enough.
