Richard van der Werf

Richard van der Werf started his career in the salvage industry in 2001 with Smit Tak in Rotterdam. Rising through the ranks at Smit, he was tasked with supporting the Smit Singapore team in 2005, becoming Contract Manager Asia that same year. At the end of 2008 he left Smit Singapore to lead the team responsible for setting up the Asian office of American-based salvage company T&T Salvage Pte Ltd. From Singapore, he manages a 35-person team that has conducted operations in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines, establishing itself as a strong regional player in the salvage and wreck removal industry with a strong focus on executing salvage operations in Indonesian waters. Richard has been involved in high-profile cases including the sinking and wreck removal of the Tricolor in the English Channel, the structural failure of the Cape Africa off South Africa, the fire aboard the YM Green in Singapore, and more recently the fire and explosion of the Bunga Alpinia in Labuan, Malaysia.