The law of salvage is one of the oldest laws in the world. If you can get on the ship, right it, and get it back to port, it's yours.
An oceangoing commercial tug was located by a helicopter fifty miles from the Enterprise formation, and in a remarkable set of circumstances, the frigate Gary took custody of the barge and dispatched the tug to the carrier, where she could relieve the Aegis cruiser, and, by the way, increase Big-E's speed of advance to nine knots. The tug's skipper contemplated the magnitude of the fee he'd gained under the Lloyd's Open Form salvage contract, which the carrier's CO had signed and ferried back by helicopter. The typical court award was 10 to 15 percent of the value of the property salved. A carrier, an air wing, and six thousand people, the tugboat crew thought. What was 10 percent of three billion dollars? Maybe they'd be generous and settle for five.
The USS Enterprise had been damaged and this salvage tug was used to pull it back to port. Now, that 10-15% may only apply in this case (assuming Clancy got it right) since he's just helping and it was still under command, even if disabled and needing a salvage tug to get anywhere.
I'm willing to bet that there's at least one lawyer with maritime law experience (or at least remembers their law school classes) who can provide info. I'll try to remember some of the folks who chimed in on the Dubai Ports deal from the professional lawyer standpoint and ping them.