TIP 5 — USE OF SKILLERS IN OIL POLLUTION RESPONSE

There are numerous options available today to provide due response to any marine oil spill. The primary technique which have already proven effective and accepted worldwide by the authorities is the recovery of the oil from the sea water surface by mechanical means. This is commonly achieved through use of the booms that help to concentrate the oil spilt and allow a skimmer to recover the oil selectively and subsequently pump it to the storage facility.

There are several types of skimmer with their design optimized to deal with various operation scales, types of oils and different environmental conditions. The present fifth issue of ITOPF technical information paper will describe the basic requirements for their use in cases of the marine oil spills. The ultimate goal of the recovery operations is collecting as much spilt oil as it is reasonable and economically possible.

The effective recovery system shall overcome the problems of encountering oil and its containment and concentration as well as its pumping and storage, as described above. The skimmers used for these purposes include some support and floatation arrangements; more complicated skimmer designs may feature self-propulsion and have some recovery elements, storage tanks and separation facilities making them even more effective...