Elastec News

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.

Oil spills, trash, debris, sediment, chemicals: how do we keep our waterways clean? If an oil spill happens on water, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA90) has very clear rules on who is responsible for paying for cleanup costs. Most oil spills can be traced to the spiller – a pipeline owner, oil tanker, shipper, railroad or trucking company. “Pointing a finger” at the alleged party may be why this type of pollution is referred to as “point source.” If the oil spill is ruled an accident and the polluter is not legally responsible…

The Elastec Inlander river utility boat (RUB) is a unique concept. But, Elastec already manufactures many other response and utility craft for this market. What prompted the internal effort to create such a craft was that while on oil spill deployments with customers, Elastec personnel began to notice quite a few response organizations using “reconfigured” recreational watercraft (fishing boats) to perform tasks. Those boats, according to Elastec, were not well suited to the tasks they were doing, both in terms of safety and operational utility.

Researchers tackle the tough problems despite a lack of funding and official incentives to move forward. Progress, in particular for Arctic spill response equipment and techniques, is being made. Even in the messy but now seemingly distant wake of such environmental disasters such as the Exxon Valdez grounding and the Deepwater Horizon accident, domestic oil spill response requirements still provide little or no incentive for responders in the U.S. to develop and deploy new equipment. Elsewhere, other countries (especially Norway) have better options for testing and approving systems using an intentional spill. Here at home, this approach has been recommended especially for the Arctic by many stakeholders, to no apparent avail.

The BoomVane is one of the most useful and interesting tools available to oil spill responders for shoreline and single vessel boom deployment. Maintaining an effective oil containment boom configuration with two vessels is difficult to coordinate. The Elastec BoomVane solves that problem. BoomVane can also tow heavier booms greater distances than an outrigger arm resulting in wider sweep swaths. Illinois-based Elastec is the manufacturer and owner of the proprietary BoomVane technology. Elastec offers four BoomVane sizes to accommodate various water depths.

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.

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.

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…

Elastec, a U.S. based manufacturer of pollution control equipment, is producing trash and debris collection boats to assist local governments in meeting Clean Water Act standards, aid in the reduction of floating pollutants in waterways and help protect aquatic ecosystems. The trash and debris collection vessel, designed to skim floating litter from harbors and waterways, can also be used for various marine maintenance duties from its 8- by 11-foot work platform. Designed to be maneuverable in hard to reach areas…

ELASTEC’S 1.5 meter ELASTEC BoomVane is designed to quickly deploy heavier oil booms in coastal and open waters in advancing sweeping and skimming applications – with only one towing vessel. No longer limited by the length of a sweep arm, wider boom swaths can be configured with the unharnessed power of the BoomVane to tow the boom into position. BoomVane also solidly holds the swath configuration in place, maneuvered by the boat’s captain.   www.elastec.com (As published in the May 2015 edition of Marine News - http://magazines.marinelink.com/Magazines/MaritimeNews)

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.

Elastec/American Marine manufactures and markets pollution control and oil spill response systems. The firm has ISO 9001:2008 certification and recently won an industry prize for their patented grooved disc oil skimming technology. They have also received international awards and recognition for this breakthrough technology. Instrumental in managing the controlled burn operation during the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill, the firm’s core competency is oil spill response systems: skimmers, fire and containment booms, boom deployment systems, portable vacuum equipment, and other related equipment.

Elastec/American Marine say that quality and dependability made all the difference when the state oil company of Ecuador decided recently to purchase its oil spill response equipment. PetroEcuador recently acquired two ELASTEC TDS136G grooved drum skimmers, two ELASTEC SeaSkater weir skimmers, a PACS1000-770, two ELASTEC BoomVane™ units, 60 sections of oil containment boom and ten QuickTanks. The oil spill response equipment will be used at PetroEcuador’s Esmeraldas facility, the country’s largest and most important refinery. Elastec skimmers have been in service there for over six years, and that track record, Elastec’s grooved drum…

As the Voice of Spill Response Professionals, the Spill Control Association of America (SCAA) is supporting and assisting with the planning and coordination of IOSC 2014 on May 5-8 in Savannah, Ga. SCAA encouraged all members to attend IOSC, submit technical papers, volunteer as technical paper review team members and demonstrate equipment technologies. The centerpiece of SCAA's support during this year's Conference is working with the U.S. Coast Guard IOSC Program Planning Committee and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) to develop and facilitate the On-Water and Aerial Technology Demonstration schedule for 5 p.m. on May 7.

When Elastec/American Marine managed the controlled burn operation in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, the response operation was more efficient when aerial surveillance was available. Fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters were frequently employed in the search for oil, but those alternatives proved costly and were also unavailable at night. In other scenarios, limitations such as fog, heavy rains or snow may make flying impractical and unsafe for the flight crew. Valuable time may be lost preparing and filing flight plans…

Oil spill equipment manufacturer Elastec brings new and sophisticated tools to a market in need of better, faster, more efficient and environmentally sound tactics. Just what the doctor ordered. Elastec/American Marine may well be the largest manufacturer of oil spill and environmental equipment in North America, but it is technology and innovation that are quickly propelling the firm to the top of the markets. With six U.S. locations, three foreign offices and a network of global dealers, ISO 9001 certified-Elastec produces a range of products that includes oil spill equipment (skimmers, containment boom, fire boom, dispersant application equipment), incinerators, vacuum systems, portable tanks, pumps and a dozen more entries.

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.

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…

Alnmaritec Limited, which is recognised as one of the UK's leading specialist boat builders, has recently delivered two new oil pollution control boats for operation in Asia. The new ‘Wave Skimmer’ class boats were delivered by Alnmaritec earlier this year to Elastec American Marine who also supplied all of the oil recovery and storage equipments on board. These boats follow on from the successful Wave Provider class boat that was delivered by Alnmaritec to Elastec (a major manufacturer of oil spill equipment) in 2010, also for operations in Asia.

Marine oil spills are subject to natural processes, which alter oil's physical and chemical properties. These factors ? as well as the type of oil spilled, the magnitude of the spill, and the physical conditions of the spill site ? determine the appropriate response for spill cleanup. Response options include mechanical recovery, chemical treatment and in-situ burning. Every spill scenario is unique and constantly changing. Careful assessment by experienced personnel is required for effective response performance. Natural spreading of the oil spill is a major factor in determining the response option most likely to succeed. The number and availability of personnel and equipment is also a major consideration.