This gripping memoir by salvage Captain Ian Tew recounts the danger and glory that salvage crews face every day as fight to save huge ships from distress, whether the 'casualty' ships be on fire, filled with combustible fluids, or in the midst of a war zone.
This is a vivid account of those ten tough years, including successes, failures, tows and rescues. A barge adrift in a hurricane in the English Channel. A freighter aground on a reef hundreds of miles from land with a tropical storm approaching. A trawler battered by the surf on a coral reef, its bottom ripped out. A tanker hit by a missle during the Gulf War of the 1980's. In addition to the casualties, the tugs themselves play a major role in the story, as do the crews and captains with whom the author worked. This book is a tribute to the seamanship, courage and resourcefulness of those men. It is a gripping account of drama at sea, and also an exploration of the technical, commercial and human issues behind the headlines
