In the modern maritime world, some concerns remain the same as they were centuries ago. Storms, ice, currents and the demands of the human body at sea have no changed since the early days of Phoenician seafarers and do not look to be changing any time soon.
However, new technologies, ranging from the tried and true materials engineering of the past few dedicated to recently invented global positioning navigation systems, have also transformed the world of seafaring.
One thing that is both recent and timeless is the fact that seafaring is by and large money driven, and with the current Great Recession, it seems as if everyone on the high seas in a professional capacity is hurting for cash.
Seafarers are dealing with the Great Recession in a few different ways. Some are forcing their equipment to last longer, which is always risky, but then again, so is all sea travel. Others are trying to balance staying docked with being out at sea to maximize profit while minimizing expenses.
Some are even experimenting with with new technologies such as solar panels. Most, however, are replacing their equipment for less money through marine wreckers. Which begs the question of what are marine wreckers?
The fact is, not every ship is going to end its seafaring days in a wreck due to anything from a horrific storm to crew incompetence. Most ships these days simply get worn down and too beaten up to remain safely in use.
And, much like cars that are no long safe to drive from age and irreparable damage, ships are likewise put out to pasture in specialized places. These old ships are sold to maritime salvage yards to put a small amount of money in the company’s coffers and in exchange the salvage yard gets the ship which may be bordering on a wreck. But what are marine wreckers?
Marine wreckers are essentially the salvage yards for ships. Ship owners sell the marine wreckers their old ships that are either no longer sea worthy or a safety hazard if used on the waters and then the marine wreckers go to work.
They take the ship apart for anything that can be resold, from fully intact mechanical parts to scrap metal that can be melted down and transformed into anything from another ship to another industrial product. Other ship owners, then, may go to the marine wreckers and buy the usable parts salvaged from the ships being wrecked and re-purpose them for their own ships.
Amid the Great Recession, many maritime operators and marine business companies are re-asking themselves what are marine wreckers. This question can be important when a valuable ship none the less needs new parts that could cost quite a bit of money new, money some maritime operators simply do not have.
With this in mind, more and more seafaring companies are turning to marine wreckers to get essential parts for cheaper than they would buying them new. Even some private boat owners are getting in on the act and buying parts for their boats from marine wreckers rather than spend their limited funds on new parts.
The exact cost of parts from marine wreckers varies depending on their price new, as well as their quality and damage taken over time. While most salvaged boat parts are cheaper than buying them new, sometimes a particularly high quality part that has taken next to no damage over the years may cost more than a cheaply made new part, though seldom by very much.
The main downside of getting parts from these salvage boat yards is that they may not have the exact part you need in the way you want it. This is as true for boat salvage yards as they are for any other salvage yard, be they specialized in cars or other devices.
Overall, it’s a beneficial arrangement for everybody. The owners of the almost wrecked boats save money on docking fees and get to make a bit of money rather than simply intentionally sinking boats that are no longer seaworthy.
The salvage docks get products that they can sell at a profit while taking the old boats off the hands of people who don’t want them anymore, while being able to provide quality parts at a discount for people who need them but can not afford them new and are willing to do a little digging to find the exact part they need for their boat.
Some marine wreckers double as ship salvaging companies, going out into the waters and dredging up parts and valuables from ships that have sank due to any number of circumstances. What they recover will also be for sale, though as with all ship salving operations, the products may be somewhat sketchy, particularly if the ship itself met its demise through mechanical failure.
Still, if it wasn’t the fuel injector of the ship that failed, a somewhat wet part at a lower price than a new fuel injector is probably a good idea for any mariner on a budget. Naturally being careful where you buy these salvaged parts can be important, as a shady operator may not be working entirely within the law.
Parts that can not be sold for use on other ships are often sold as scrap materials. In this way, recycling and manufacturing companies also have good cause to be interested in these specialized marine salvage operations, and purchasing a sheet of solid processed aluminum pulled from a ship that was no longer seaworthy can save any company a fortune. All the other parts of a ship fall under similar categories of being cheaper to recycle than to buy new or create whole cloth.
Hopefully the question of what are marine wreckers has been answered here. They are an essential part of doing business on the seas and can be found nearly anywhere there is access to a suitably massive body of water. If you have dire need of a boat part and not a lot of money, looking up a marine wrecker may be for you.