Recovered Oil News

Two new oil spill response barges were recently completed at ASL Shipyard in Singapore for Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC).The two 3,500 tonne barges, Sentinel 303 and Sentinel 304, will be delivered to WCMRC in October, with arrival in Canada by the end of 2022. The response barges will join WCMRC’s fleet of pollution response vessels stationed along the south coast of British Columbia.These new barges represent a significant enhancement to the pollution response capabilities already in place and will benefit the entire local maritime industry…

Grandweld Shipyard in Dubai has delivered four new tractor tugs for operations in Kuwait’s Shuwaikh Port.The four TRAktor 2700-Z vessels Ghanim-1, Ghanim-2, Ghanim-3 and Ghanim-4 were designed by Robert Allan Ltd., who worked closely with the Grandweld Shipyard to develop the customized design of the previously built 27-meter TRAktor tug series. The tugs were engineered to perform multiple tasks including ship assist, escort, towing, fire fighting, oil pollution response and others.Each vessel is powered by two Caterpillar 3512C main engines…

A refurbished high-spec oil spill response vessel for the Aegean Sea has entered service under a four-year contract with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), a contract with an option for four additional years.Dubbed AKTEA II, the OSRV will be able to reach anywhere in the Aegean within 24 hours and can collect and carry up to 4,500 tonnes of oil.Based in Piraeus, Greece AKTEA II OSRV (IMO 9327516) has onboard capacity of 4,486 cu. m. for recovered oil and is equipped with…

Dubai shipbuilder Grandweld Shipyards held a keel laying ceremony for two of total four high-performance TRAktor 2700-Z tugs, on January 26, 2022.The tugs were ordered by Specialities Construction for General Trading and Contracting Company (SCC) and will be operated by Kuwait Ports Authority (KPA) in Kuwait’s Shuwaikh Port. Expected to enter service by August 2022, the tugs can perform multiple tasks including ship assist, escort, towing, fire fighting, oil pollution response and others.Robert Allan Ltd.

The 60m RAmpage 6000-ZM vessel Koc Al Zour, built by Uzmar Shipyard, will be the largest Robert Allan Ltd. design ever built in Turkey. She is designed and constructed as a modern double azimuth stern drive (ASD) and is the most capable multipurpose oil spill recovery and offshore support vessel Kuwait Oil Company has ever ordered.The vessel is equipped to undertake operations such as oil spill response, oil spill containment and recovery, area surveillance, offshore fire fighting…

Genoa, Italy based Rimorchiatori Riuniti Group took delivery in February of a modified version of Robert Allan Ltd.'s TRAktor 2500-SX standard design from Turkih builder Sanmar Shipyards.The addition of Italia, a modern Z-drive tractor to their fleet could potentially signal a renewed interest in Z-drive tractor tugs for the group.Robert Allan Ltd. and Sanmar Shipyards worked with Rimorchiatori Riuniti to modify the design to suit the owner's requirements. Such modifications include rescue boat and davit on the foredeck…

Canadian naval architectural firm Robert Allan Ltd (RAL) announced that  the TOR Group  shipyard in Tuzla Bay (Istanbul) has delivered the Ben Owusu-Mensah, the third of three RAstar 3300 tugs for Ghana Ports & Harbours Authority (GPHA).The new tugs are equipped to fulfill a multitude of missions for the GPHA, including but not limited to ship-assist, fire-fighting, and pollution response, said a press release from the ship designer."Driven by high speed engines and Z-drive propellers, the Ben Owusu-Mensah and its sisters comfortably meet all contractual performance requirements, including the achievement of 82 tonnes of bollard pull and speeds in excess of 14 knots on trial…

Tug boat builder and a tug boat manufacturer Sanmar Shipyards has been awarded contract for true tractor configuration tug with forward mounted thrusters by Rimorchiatori Riuniti in Italy."This will be sixth example of the Turkish specialist tug builder’s, exclusive Delicay design in barely a year since the first vessel of this type was delivered to New Zealand," said a press note.Designed by Robert Allan Ltd  of Vancouver, Canada, it is designated theTRAktor 2500-Z SX, it said.Having a 70 tonne bollard pull from a twin Caterpillar/Rolls-Royce diesel engine and azimuthing Z-drive thruster combination, this latest 25.30m x 12m vessel…

Floating production, storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs) are in the ascendancy. The total FPSO market is now expected to grow to over $117 billion by 2024. A combination of factors, such as the recovered oil price and renewed interest in deeper, more marginal new reserves, have made these vessels the understandable choice for an industry that still remembers the travails of 2014.But nothing can be taken for granted. With an uptick in activity, operators need to be wary of supply-chain risks. Valves are a critical component of any new project and they must adhere to strict standards.

More than 440 tons of heavy fuel oil was extracted from the tanks of the sunken general cargo vessel Thorco Cloud. The wreck lies in two sections 1,730 meters apart and 70 meters down in the middle of the eastbound traffic lane of the Singapore Strait following a collision in December 2015. The heavy oil in the fuel tanks and in trapped compartments was seen as a major pollution hazard. Both the bow and stern sections contained fuel tanks that required emptying, so the Thorco Cloud’s owner, Marship GmbH, supported by the P&I insurance company Standard Club, contracted Jaya Salvage Indonesia early last year. Bumi Subsea provided remotely operated vehicles (ROV) and the dynamically positioned Surf Allamanda, owned by Bourbon Offshore.

When markets expand niches are created, goes the logic. For builders of tugs, that market is “floating gas” and the expanding use of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, as a fuel. In support of LNG, there’ll be more oceangoing tug duty — the new floating storage and regasification units, or FSRUs, mean busier LNG carriers, and LNG cargo owners have an interest in tug escorts that share their “carbon footprint”. Still, new emissions rules offer ways to keep using refinery products, and the work of master tug designers suggests the new breeds of tugs are about more than fuel.

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.

The first of three new dual fuel RAstar 4000-DF class extreme escort tugs, the Dux, has been delivered to Østensjø Rederi AS by Spanish shipbuilder Astilleros Gondán S.A. Designed by Robert Allan Ltd., the 40.2 meter vessel is the first of a three boat order from Østensjø for severe weather operations at Statoil's Melkøya LNG Gas terminal at Hammerfest in the extreme north of Norway. These escort tugs will conduct approximately 300 LNG ship escorts annually, assist with berthing operations and will be maintained in readiness for emergency services such as long line towing…

Boluda Towage and Salvage has taken delivery of the newly built VB Xaloc, the first tug of the owner’s multi-boat order from Astilleros Zamakona and first of Robert Allan Ltd.’s TRAktor 3200-V class escort tugs. The TRAktor 3200-V was designed by Robert Allan Ltd. specifically to meet Boluda’s requirements for performance, propulsion equipment, accommodation facilities, tank capacities and all within a gross tonnage (GRT) limit of less than 500. According to the designer, extensive…

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon mobile offshore drilling platform was destroyed as a result of a catastrophic blowout of the Macondo 252 well in the Gulf of Mexico. The blowout resulted in a continuous discharge of approximately 3.19 million barrels of oil over three months covering approximately 30,000 square miles of the Gulf. It was the worst accidental oil spill in U.S. history. Due to the massive amount of oil being spewed into the Gulf, three aggressive oil removal methods were authorized: mechanical skimming, dispersant application and controlled burns.

The new Gobbler Offshore 290 oil spill recovery vessel (OSRV) not only excels at remediation, but harnesses the latest in environmentally sound fire suppression technology, according to its developer. The boat comes standard with a Sea-Fire pre-engineered system and 3M's Novec 1230 Fire Protection Fluid. "We chose Novec 1230 because it's in line with Gobbler Boats' ethos of protecting the environment," said Simon Jauncey, Gobbler Boats' technical manager. 3M's next-generation fire suppression fluid is a replacement for Halon.

The maritime industry has seen an increased need for high speed spill response in step with expanding offshore oil exploration and production. Meeting this need is the newest skimmer boat from Washington-based shipbuilder Rozema Boat Works: a 65-foot oil spill recovery vessel (OSRV), G.M. Penman. Key to the vessel’s effectiveness is its maneuverability. G.M. Penman depends on Twin Disc QuickShift transmissions and EC300 Power Commander electronic control system with Express for the critical task of remediation. “The G.M.

Kvichak’s Rapid Response Skimmers (RRS) are perhaps best known for their use by the U.S. Navy, but the design of these robust and well-designed units has evolved over time and today boasts placement in virtually every major spill organization. When, just this past October, Kvichak Marine won a U.S. Navy contract for 12 30-foot Rapid Response Skimmers (RRS) for delivery over the next 18 months, with options for up to 30 additional skimmers to be delivered through 2019, that wasn’t necessarily earthshaking news. That’s because the aluminum Kvichak RRS is already the Navy’s tier one response asset. The new craft will supplement the Navy’s current fleet of over 85 units in operation in Navy ports worldwide since 1994.

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.

Protestors are rallying against the Brazilian auction of the Libra oilfield site discovered in 2010 roughly 140 miles off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. Multiple Sources reported that some 1,100 troops have already been deployed by the Brazilian government as a preventative measure after protests grew violent last week in Rio. The auction, which is scheduled to take place this afternoon, dictates that state-run Petrobras would bring in more than 40% of recovered oil from Libra for the Brazilian state.

Kvichak Marine won a US Navy contract for 12 30-ft.Rapid Response Skimmers (RRS) for delivery over the next 18 months, with options for up to 30 additional skimmers to be delivered through 2019. The Kvichak RRS is Navy’s tier one response asset, and these craft will supplement the Navy’s current fleet of over 85 units in operation in Navy ports worldwide since 1994. With over 20 years of continuous production and development, the Kvichak RRS is an extraordinarily well proven technology with an exceptional record for safety, performance and durability.

Wilson Sons Estaleiros Ltda, has contracted with  Braizilian subsidiary shipyard Oceanpact  for the construction of four Oil Spill Recovery Vessels (OSRVs), with recovered oil storage capacity of 1,050 m³, a length of 67 meters, and a beam of 14 meters. Wilson inform that for the construction of the four vessels, Oceanpact will pay approximately BRL 333 million (three hundred and thirty three million brazilian reais). The vessels, which are scheduled to be delivered by 2016, will be built in Wilson Sons' Shipyard complex, in Guarujá (SP).

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) will invest up to $6 million to support oil spill response research projects in 2015 and is soliciting proposals for these projects. In a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) released on the federal government’s business opportunities website, www.FedBizOpps.gov, the bureau called for white papers focusing specifically on one of seven topic areas for proposed research covering oil spill response operations on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. The deadline for submitting white papers is February 9, 2015.