Marine salvaging occurs when a vessel of any size sinks or becomes wrecked on a body of water of any size. A wreck may pose an environmental threat via pollutants or interfere with local economic conditions by obstructing the waterway. Salvaging refers to recovering part or all of the vessel and or its cargo and or ensuring it makes a minimal environmental impact.

Professional salvagers perform some or all of these responsibilities according to contractors' or owners' specifications. As contingencies against injury during recovery and against asking for compensation disproportional to the amount of work completed, both salvagers and those hiring them follow principles in the International Convention on Salvage (1989). Both parties must agree on the minimum amount of work warranting pay and subsequent pay scaling, referred to as No Cure No Pay. Individuals or firms undertaking a salvaging operation must also know the level of danger involved because maritime salvage only covers property in danger but not immediate danger.