Vessels: registrations, charters and incidents · France / Switzerland
Maritime salvage: agreement, service and remuneration
Salvage remuneration requires examination of the danger, services, agreement and documented result. French provisions distinguish useful-result requirements, environmental exceptions and duties already owed under an earlier contract. Swiss maritime law expressly refers to the salvage convention. Assemble instructions, resources, saved interests and the demand received. This preparation neither sets a standard reward nor treats every towage service as remunerable salvage.
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Salvage service and remuneration dossier
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Was the work already owed under a towage or other pre-existing duty?
France: compare any pre-existing towage duty with services exceeding its normal performance. Switzerland: preserve the prior contract and actual additional work for analysis under the applicable assistance convention; do not presume every tow is salvage or every contracted service is excluded.
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What danger and property interests existed when assistance began?
France: describe the actual danger, vessel and cargo when the intervention began. Switzerland: record the same maritime event under the framework referred to by LNM 121; later difficulties should not be presented as conditions already known at the start.
Code des transports, livre Ier : L5132-2Navigation maritime : texte fédéral suisse
Was the work already owed under a towage or other pre-existing duty?
France: compare any pre-existing towage duty with services exceeding its normal performance. Switzerland: preserve the prior contract and actual additional work for analysis under the applicable assistance convention; do not presume every tow is salvage or every contracted service is excluded.
Code des transports, livre Ier : L5132-2Navigation maritime : texte fédéral suisse
Salvage service and remuneration dossier
Synthetic example: fictional records. Salvage service and remuneration dossier.
Synthetic example: fictional records · Salvage service and remuneration dossier
- Jurisdiction
- France
- Event and danger
- Vessel A, event EV1
- Assistance agreement
- Instructions C1, draft V2
- Resources and result
- Operation I1, saved interests
- Remuneration demand
- Schedule D1, values to substantiate
This preparation neither sets a standard reward nor treats every towage service as remunerable salvage.
Which assistance terms were accepted and by whom?
France: identify the master or owner’s relevant statutory contracting role and the accepted terms. Switzerland: retain who accepted the maritime assistance agreement, when and in what capacity; this worksheet does not authenticate authority or create an agreement.
Code des transports, livre Ier : L5132-2Navigation maritime : texte fédéral suisse
What useful result and saved-property evidence are documented?
France: connect the useful result with the services, preserving the special exceptions. Switzerland: document saved property and the services’ outcome without importing a blanket French no-result rule; convention-specific conditions require their own examination.
Code des transports, livre Ier : L5132-2Navigation maritime : texte fédéral suisse
Preparation reference: Salvage service and remuneration dossier
| Preparation question | Point to verify |
|---|---|
| What danger and property interests existed when assistance began? | France: describe the actual danger, vessel and cargo when the intervention began. Switzerland: record the same maritime event under the framework referred to by LNM 121; later difficulties should not be presented as conditions already known at the start. |
| Was the work already owed under a towage or other pre-existing duty? | France: compare any pre-existing towage duty with services exceeding its normal performance. Switzerland: preserve the prior contract and actual additional work for analysis under the applicable assistance convention; do not presume every tow is salvage or every contracted service is excluded. |
| Which assistance terms were accepted and by whom? | France: identify the master or owner’s relevant statutory contracting role and the accepted terms. Switzerland: retain who accepted the maritime assistance agreement, when and in what capacity; this worksheet does not authenticate authority or create an agreement. |
| What useful result and saved-property evidence are documented? | France: connect the useful result with the services, preserving the special exceptions. Switzerland: document saved property and the services’ outcome without importing a blanket French no-result rule; convention-specific conditions require their own examination. |
Code des transports, livre Ier : L5132-2Navigation maritime : texte fédéral suisse
Which resources, risks, time and environmental efforts are claimed?
France: associate actual resources, time, risks and environmental measures with contemporaneous records. Switzerland: retain the same evidence for the selected convention framework; expenses alone do not determine the assistant’s remuneration or automatically establish every claimed criterion.
Code des transports, livre Ier : L5132-2Navigation maritime : texte fédéral suisse
What conduct could affect the remuneration sought under the selected framework?
France: keep relevant conduct and the statutory environmental-exception branch visible rather than assuming an unconditional reward formula. Switzerland: identify the actual convention provisions invoked and conduct alleged; this page does not decide unreviewed treaty exceptions or exclusions.
Code des transports, livre Ier : L5132-2Navigation maritime : texte fédéral suisse
Which official provision helps explain this situation?
Salvage remuneration requires examination of the danger, services, agreement and documented result. French provisions distinguish useful-result requirements, environmental exceptions and duties already owed under an earlier contract. Swiss maritime law expressly refers to the salvage convention. Assemble instructions, resources, saved interests and the demand received. This preparation neither sets a standard reward nor treats every towage service as remunerable salvage.
How are the assistant's remuneration and general-average contribution kept separate?
France: distinguish the assistant’s remuneration claim from a separate general-average adjustment. Switzerland: distinguish the shipowner’s payment and potential recourse from contribution allocation; a common incident does not make the two accounts interchangeable.
Code des transports, livre Ier : L5132-2Navigation maritime : texte fédéral suisse
Which valuation or allocation questions require specialist determination?
France: refer disputed saved values, reward criteria and allocations to the appropriate specialist or authority. Switzerland: do the same under the applicable maritime or inland branch; the preparation tool records supplied evidence and does not calculate a legally binding reward.
Code des transports, livre Ier : L5132-2Navigation maritime : texte fédéral suisse
What other questions arise in this file?
Was the work already owed under a towage or other pre-existing duty?
France: compare any pre-existing towage duty with services exceeding its normal performance. Switzerland: preserve the prior contract and actual additional work for analysis under the applicable assistance convention; do not presume every tow is salvage or every contracted service is excluded.
Code des transports, livre Ier : L5132-2Navigation maritime : texte fédéral suisse
What useful result and saved-property evidence are documented?
France: connect the useful result with the services, preserving the special exceptions. Switzerland: document saved property and the services’ outcome without importing a blanket French no-result rule; convention-specific conditions require their own examination.
Code des transports, livre Ier : L5132-2Navigation maritime : texte fédéral suisse
What conduct could affect the remuneration sought under the selected framework?
France: keep relevant conduct and the statutory environmental-exception branch visible rather than assuming an unconditional reward formula. Switzerland: identify the actual convention provisions invoked and conduct alleged; this page does not decide unreviewed treaty exceptions or exclusions.
Code des transports, livre Ier : L5132-2Navigation maritime : texte fédéral suisse
Which valuation or allocation questions require specialist determination?
France: refer disputed saved values, reward criteria and allocations to the appropriate specialist or authority. Switzerland: do the same under the applicable maritime or inland branch; the preparation tool records supplied evidence and does not calculate a legally binding reward.
Code des transports, livre Ier : L5132-2Navigation maritime : texte fédéral suisse
Which official references should you consult?
- Code des transports, livre Ier : L5132-2www.legifrance.gouv.fr
- Navigation maritime : texte fédéral suissewww.fedlex.admin.ch
Texts cited last checked: 3 November 2026