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Oil Cleanup News

15 Feb 2019

Kleven Delivers Maersk Anchor Handler

Godmother Rikke EskjĂŚr and Olav Nakken, CEO of Kleven verft A/S after naming sereminy and delivery of MĂŚrsk Maker. Photo: Olav Thokle - Fotomaritim

Maersk Maker, the sixth and last of a series of six anchor handlers for Maersk Supply Service A/S, was delivered from Norwegian shipyard Kleven on Thursday.Built for operation in deepsea depths, the M-series vessel Maersk Maker had a naming ceremony at Kleven yard, with Rikke Eskjær as godmother. The vessel will leave Kleven in a few days, heading to Aberdeen and the spot market in the North Sea.Maersk Maker is of the Salt 200 type and has an open deck area of more than 800m2, with 102m2 covered deck area as well. She is also equipped with anchor handling winch of 450 tons.

22 Jan 2018

Coast Guard Cutter Elm Heads to Baltimore for Overhaul

File photo: USCG photo by John Edwards

The 20-year-old U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Elm is scheduled to make its way to the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore this month for a planned major dry dock overhaul. The cutter’s departure from Atlantic Beach, N.C. will mark its last from its current homeport. After the overhaul work is completed, the Elm will report to a new homeport in Astoria, Oregon. Coast Guard Cutter Maple, which is presently undergoing a midlife overhaul of its own, will replace the Elm in Atlantic Beach this April.

31 Oct 2017

A Turning Point in Oil Spill Recovery

(Photo: Elastec)

Cleaning up marine oil spills can be a challenge as there are various types of oil spilled but only a few effective recovery methods. The three main technologies for oil spill recovery for inland and offshore waters are mechanical, insitu burning (ISB), and dispersant application. Absorbent booms and pads may also be used, but they are more effective for small fuel spills. Mechanical recovery, usually an oil skimmer, is a device that skims contained floating oil and transfers the recovered oil to a storage container or vessel.

06 Sep 2016

MN100: Elastec

(Photo: Elastec)

Located in Carmi and Fairfield, Illinois and Cocoa, Florida, Elastec manufactures water pollution control products specializing in oil spill recovery equipment. Established in 1990 with the invention of the ELASTEC Drum Skimmer, the U.S. Clean Water act inspired Elastec to expand its product line to include floating booms, turbidity curtains, vacuum systems, work boats and portable incinerators. Elastec’s new Omni Cat is a waterway maintenance catamaran designed to help municipalities comply with nonpoint source pollution.

28 Sep 2015

MN 100: Elastec

Elastec manufactures and markets innovative pollution control and recovery systems. The company’s core competency is oil spill response: skimmers, fire and containment booms, boom deployment systems, portable vacuum equipment, workboats, dispersant spray systems, oil spill aerial surveillance systems, storage tanks and pumps. The company also manufactures floating containment booms and barriers, turbidity curtains and fumigation tarps in its Cocoa, Florida facility. Elastec Hydro…

08 Apr 2015

Marine Salvage & Oil Spill Response Insights

Photo: Global Diving & Salvage

Last month Maritime Reporter had the good fortune to receive insights from a trio of maritime salvage leaders – Paul Hankins, Tim Beaver & Jim Elliott – garnering insights on one of the most challenging and ever-changing sectors of the maritime market. It was recently written “salvors have become more closely tied to Oil Spill Response Organizations (OSROs).” Why? Hankins The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA90) defines how all stakeholders will respond to potential or actual oil spill responses.

29 Apr 2014

Oil Cleanup Continues in Oakland Estuary

The tug Respect is hauled to the surface of the Oakland Estuary Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013. The tug, which sank at its moorings in 2007, will be transported to a nearby yard for scrapping. Coast Guard photo by Thomas McKenzie

Members of the U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Francisco Incident Management Division were notified by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) on-scene coordinator that their contractor, Global Diving and Salvage, Inc. (GDSI), had discovered tar balls and heavy oil while removing sediment from the tug Respect in the Oakland Estuary Oct. 14, 2013. Further research on the Respect showed an estimated 300-500 gallons of oil had been left aboard during removal operations conducted in 1998. The Respect was then vandalized in 2007 and sank with an unknown oil potential.

10 Sep 2013

Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE Offers $2 Million Award

XPRIZE announced the launch of its next major competition: the $2 million Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE. On the heels of the successful Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup XCHALLENGE, the Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE aims to spur global innovators to develop accurate and affordable ocean pH sensors that will ultimately transform our understanding of ocean acidification, one of the gravest problems associated with the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). The oceans absorb about one quarter of the CO2 that humans release into the atmosphere, causing the chemistry of the water to change and the oceans to become more acidic. As a result of increased CO2 emissions, ocean acidity is now at unprecedented levels, which could have devastating global consequences.

17 Aug 2012

Elastec/American Marine Acquires Scandinavian Technology

Elastec/American Marine, headquartered in Carmi, IL, is pleased to announce the acquisition of the BoomVane technology, expanding its range in the manufacture of innovative pollution control equipment. Developed and patented by ORC of Sweden, the BoomVane is an aquatic paravane system that enables oil recovery and debris containment booms to be towed by a single vessel, as well as to deploy booms in rivers and tidal waters without boats or anchors. Elastec/American Marine is the largest manufacturer of oil spill recovery equipment in North America with global distribution in 145 countries.

16 Oct 2011

Glosten Associates on Winning X‐Prize Team

On Tuesday, October 11, 2011 Team Elastec, a partnership of co‐inventors Elastec/American Marine and Glosten Associates, Inc., was awarded the $1 million first prize for winning the X‐Prize Foundation’s Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup Challenge with an ocean‐capable oil recovery system that shattered previous records for oil recovery rate and efficiency under controlled conditions. Glosten provided vessel engineering, mechanical system design, and operations support throughout the aggressive 45 day development process…

23 Jun 2010

Hutchison Calls for Emergency Waiver to Jones Act

On June 17, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) delivered a speech on the U.S. Senate floor calling for an emergency waiver of the Jones Act, which requires many foreign vessels to go through a lengthy bureaucratic approval process in order to assist with the oil cleanup effort in the Gulf of Mexico. Sen. Hutchison, who is the Ranking Republican on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, said she will introduce legislation to temporarily waive the Jones Act to allow foreign marine vessels to help with the cleanup. This extended waiver would be applied for a period of time that is necessary to respond and restore the waters of the Gulf.

14 Jun 2010

Protecting Worker Health during Oil Spill Cleanup

The U.S. Coast Guard Federal on Scene Coordinator for the BP Deepwater Horizon response and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding concerning worker safety and health issues related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response in the Gulf of Mexico. The MOU solidifies the close working relationship between the Coast Guard and OSHA and establishes a specific mechanism for coordination between the Deepwater Horizon FOSC and OSHA. OSHA and the FOSC recognize the importance of close cooperation among all agencies that have responsibilities during the oil cleanup efforts. The MOU furthers joint efforts to monitor compliance with safety standards and to protect workers.

02 Mar 2007

M/V Songa Hua Oil Cleanup Continues in Puget Sound

Response teams continue to clean up an oil spill around and underneath Pier 91 at Smith Cove in Elliott Bay today. The main area of impact of the oil appears to be contained underneath Pier 91 of the Port of Seattle. The cleanup is being coordinated with the Port of Seattle. The assessment and labor intensive cleanup of the impacted shoreline is to continue into Friday and possibly the weekend. Cleanup crews are aggressively working to remove all the spilled oil on the deck and hull of the Songa Hua, and have recovered approximately one gallon of the spilled intermediate fuel oil from Elliott Bay, while oil stains and some recoverable oil are visible on the cement pilings underneath pier 91 and along the rocky "rip-rap" on the shore.

07 Oct 2002

Titan Receives Recognition

On Tuesday, September 24th, 2002 California State Senator Tom Torlakson honored Titan Maritime, its subcontractors, the USCG, and the California Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) for their success with the underwater oil cleanup of the freighter SS “Jacob Luckenbach”. Senator Torlakson presented Titan with a plaque in recognition for their successful efforts in protecting the sensitive California coastline and the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary from further oil pollution damage from this wreck. Titan has just completed a contract with the U.S. Coast Guard to recover oil from the SS “Jacob Luckenbach”, an ocean freight vessel built in 1944.

14 Mar 2000

French Oil Cleanup Volunteers Take Gov't To Court

Volunteers who mopped up the oil spill France's Atlantic coast from the sunken tanker Erika have taken the state to court for not warning of potential health risks, a spokesperson for the group said. The Association of Erika Volunteers (ABE) filed lawsuits at five regional tribunals along France's western coast on March 10, each targeting the local prefect. France's National Institute for Risks in the Environment (INERIS) announced last Wednesday that the sticky oil - still washing ashore - could cause cancer. The report said people wearing protective clothing faced no danger, but those treating birds, who often did not wear gloves and worked in confined areas, could face problems.