Skimmers

Whether the aim is to rapidly remove all or some of a substance spilt at sea, inshore, in an estu­ary, a harbour or in continental waters, or to collect pollutant which has been remobilised following clean-up operations on the shoreline (rocks, infrastructures, etc.), the use of skim­mers is extremely common practice in spill response operations. It is therefore important to have equipment which has been selected, pur­chased, tried and tested in advance, as part of a response planning and preparedness effort, in order to determine the performances of these skimmers and the relevant ancillary equipment, in termes of deployment and expected efficiency.

This guide presents Cedre's knowledge in this field, both in terms of equipment and its use. Based on the information provided and the many illustrations, readers will be able to make informed decisions on the most appropriate equipment and systems for the situation with which they are liable to be confronted, as well as to assess their relevance during exercises or training courses.

This guide mainly targets oil site personnel, res-cue and protection services, fire fighters, person-nel from local authorities' technical services and, more generally, all personnel liable to be involved in the response to a spill in surface waters (off-shore, inshore, rivers, lakes, etc.).

Contents

A PREPAREDNESS - RESPONSE PLAN

A.1 - Why use skimmers?
A.2 - Links in the recovery chain
A.3 - Skimmer classification
A.4 - Standardisation
A.5 - Booms, sorbents, pumps and other ancillary equipment
A.6 - Recovery vessels
A.7 - Operational limits for the use of skimmers and their ancillary equipment
A.8 - Skimmer performances
A.9 - Storage, pre-positioning and right-sizing
A.10 - Equipment stockpiles, assistance agreements, insurance, hire/loan

B SITUATION ASSESSMENT

B.1 - When and where can skimmers be used?
B.2 - Selection criteria
B.3 - Ancillary equipment and logistics required for the recovery chain
B.4 - Organising the management of recovered products

C RESPONSE – PRATICAL DATASHEETS

C.1 - Precautions prior to response
C.2 - Practical datasheets for skimmer deployment
C.3 - How to clean skimmers and their ancillary equipment
C.4 - How to maintain skimmers and their accessories
C.5 - Managing recovered products

D MONITORING AND EVALUATION

D.1 - Dos and don'ts
D.2 - Skimmers' weaknesses
D.3 - Practice, training and exercises
D.4 - Media impact of recovery

E FURTHER INFORMATION

E.1 - Glossary and acronyms
E.2 - AFNOR standards
E.3 - ASTM standards
E.4 - DNV certification
E.5 - OILREC class notation, NOFO standard
E.6 - Beaufort and Douglas scales
E.7 - Bibliography