Lloyd's Open Form (LOF)

Lloyd's Agency

The Salvage Arbitration Branch is responsible for the administration of Lloyd's Standard Form of Salvage Agreement, or LOF as it is more commonly referred to.

LOF provides a regime for determining the amount of remuneration to be awarded to salvors for their services in saving property at sea and minimising or preventing damage to the environment. Originating from the late 1800s, it is probably the most widely used international salvage agreement of its kind in the world today.

The form is administered by Lloyd's Salvage Arbitration Branch whose role is to provide a reputable and secure framework within which the LOF arbitration process can operate. The Form is accompanied by the Lloyd's Salvage Arbitration Clauses (LSAC) which combine the old LSSA Clauses and Procedural Rules.

The form and clauses can be found on our Forms and documents page.

View forms and documents

Salvage security

The Contractors shall immediately after the termination of the services or sooner notify the Council of Lloyd's and where practicable the owners of the amount for which they demand salvage security (inclusive of costs expenses and interest) from each of the respective owners. Until security has been provided, the contractor has a maritime lien on the property salved for his remuneration.

Lodging security at Lloyd's

Before releasing their maritime lien on the salved property, the salvors require security to be lodged with, and to the satisfaction of, the Council of Lloyd's. The amount of any such security shall be reasonable in the light of the knowledge available to the Contractor at the time when the demand is made and any further facts which come to the Contractors attention before security is provided. Unless otherwise agreed such security shall be provided (i) to the Council (ii) in a form approved by the Council and (iii) by persons firms or corporations either acceptable to the Council or acceptable to the Contractors. The Council shall not be responsible for the sufficiency (whether in amount or otherwise) of any security which shall be provided nor the default or insolvency of any person firm or corporation providing the same. In practice such guarantees are generally provided by or arranged through the United Kingdom representative of the underwriters concerned.

Cash as security

If the owners or insurers of the salved property do not have, or do not wish to instruct UK representatives to arrange security on their behalf or if the salved interest is not insured, then cash security can be remitted direct to our bankers. For the appropriate bank account details, please contact the Salvage Arbitration Branch by email:

lloyds-salvage@lloyds.com

Security form

There are a number of possible guarantee forms in use depending on the status of the guarantor and the requirements of the salvors. The guarantee forms can be found on our Forms and documents page. To view the documents you will require Adobe Acrobat. If you require a copy of Adobe Acrobat to view the documents, please visit the Adobe website. If you are unsure which guarantee you should be completing please contact:

+44 20 7327 5408

lloyds-salvage@lloyds.com

LOF Statistics

Table of statistics for Lloyd's Open Form (LOF)

Includes number of cases, settlements, awards and other information since 2010.

Lloyd's Form of Salvage Agreement statistics as at the end of 2022. Please note that the figures shown in the column 'Total Salvage Award' do not include those amounts awarded in cases that remain subject to an Appeal Award.

Data going back to 1990 can be seen in the Forms and documents section.

Year	New Cases	SCOPIC Invoked	Settlements	Salvage Awards Published (Original)	Salvage Awards Published (Appeal)	Total Salvage Award (and %paid through Lloyd's - $1,000)
2010	111#	21	38	16	3	$9,462 (97%)
2011	106#	11	49	9	3	$29,440 (63%)
2012	122#	1	37	12	3	$10,559(54%)
2013	61	14	50	12	3	$33,665(39%)
2014	37	7	50	10	0	$36,318(26%)
2015	50	12	21	13	4	$29,533(96%)
2016	48	11	44	8	1	$17,085(67%)
2017	63	13	33	7	0	$8.038(83%)
2018	53	8	36	9	2	$3,461(99%)
2019	41	11	22	7	2	$2,289(0%)
2020	44	9	31	9	1	$10,587(5%)
2021	37	7	22	6	2	$4,280(30%)
2022	34	11	23	7	2	$16,712(75%)
2023	23	5	19	11	2	$4,711 (96%)

# 2010 - includes 50 yacht cases

2011 - includes 36 yacht cases

2012 - includes 51 yacht cases

* Article 14 Awards/SCOPIC Awards

VALUES

(amounts shown in $1,000,000 USD)

Year	Ship	Cargo	Other	Total	%Awards to Values
2010	$26.9	$37.7	$1.3	$65.9	14.4
2011	$25.0	$43.8	$0.5	$69.3	42.5**
2012	$53.5	$62.1	$1.0	$116.6	9.0
2013	$21.8	$41.9	$1.6	$65.3	53.9**
2014	$27.8	$67.0	$1.0	$95.8	37.9**
2015	$19.3	$83.2	$2.5	$105.0	28.1**
2016	$6.7	$72.0	$0.7	$79.4	21.5 **
2017	$94.2	$63.2	$12.3	$169.7	4.7
2018	$25.9	$2.5	$0.7	$29.1	11.9
2019	$32.9	$18.7	$0.0	$51.6	4.4
2020	$86.7	$312.0	$15.9	$414.6	2.6
2021	$10.7	$26.3	$0.8	$37.8	11.3
2022	$119.1	$311.5	$13.8	$444.4	3.8
2023	$19.5	$10.6	$0.5	$30.6	15.4

** Figures affected by several Awards issued in complex, low value cases against unrepresented interests, represented parties having already settled their proportion of the Salvors' claim.