U.S. Navy Ship Salvage Manual Volume 6 - Oil Spill Response

S0300-A6-MAN-060CHAPTER 5OIL RECOVERY SYSTEMS5-1 INTRODUCTIONFollowing an oil spill, environmental damage is minimized by recovering and removing oilquickly, preferably before it reaches shore. Navy policy emphasizes recovery by skimmer systems.Navy salvors and spill responders have access to a variety of skimmers and recovery systems,including self-propelled skimmers, in the ESSM System or at NOSCDR facilities.Like every piece of equipment used in salvage, oil recovery systems have their limitations.Regardless of manufacturer’s claims, every system reaches a point of nonproductivity as weatherand sea state increase. There are no charts or formulae to indicate the sea state at which recoverybecomes unproductive. Because weather conditions are unpredictable and because oil becomesmore difficult to recover as it weathers and spreads and may come ashore as time passes, quickstarting,continuous recovery efforts are more likely to succeed. Slow starts caused by poor planning,lack of equipment or limited operations result in fouled shorelines and a lengthy cleanup.An excessively long cleanup may delay or prevent vessel salvage.COMNAVSEASYSCOM (SUPSALV) and COMNAVFACENGCOM planned and developedNavy skimmers, as they did the Navy boom described in Chapter 4. The COMNAVFACENG-COM-procured skimmers are placed at naval facilities throughout the world as the Navy’s firstline of defense in oil pollution abatement. SUPSALV skimmer systems are stored and maintainedat ESSM pools and bases in CONUS and Hawaii and may be staged at other ESSM bases whendeemed prudent. When required, NOSCs request ESSM augmentation directly from the SUP-SALV (Operations Branch). Appendix C describes procedures for requesting ESSM pollutioncontrol equipment and operators. NEESA AID Publication 7-021C contains NOSC and NOSCDRtelephone numbers.For major oil spills associated with a serious Navy accident, salvage forces and spill responderscan request assistance and equipment from the nearest USCG Marine Safety Office, USCGNational Strike Force, nearby NOSCDRs or local commercial spill cooperatives.As discussed in Chapter 4, spill response efforts must recover or otherwise remove persistent oilsbecause containment methods cannot protect sensitive environments indefinitely. Oil is recoveredprimarily to protect the environment and manmade structures, although recovered oil may haveeconomic value. Oil recovery should begin as soon as personnel and equipment can be madeavailable. If sufficient assets are available, oil recovery efforts can begin at the same time asaction to secure the spill source and contain spilled oil.This chapter discusses:• General mechanical recovery systems and their operating principles.5-1