Oil Spill Cleanup Vessel

The Vessel SeaClean has been called an environmental battleship: an effective new weapon for use against man-made challenges to our marine environment.  Although it was initially targeted for Alaskan waters, it is seen as the vanguard in an oil and waste handling fleet that can provide routine cleanup of major ports throughout the world and can respond immediately when a spill occurs.

Though the concept is revolutionary, its origin is evolutionary.  The vessel brings together on a single, self-propelled platform a variety of proven systems.  The company has begun negotiations with unnamed affiliates to help finance the construction of the 15 story tall, 275 by 217-foot vessel.

The company has already received a permit from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (SDEC) to operate one significant component of the vessel-a highly efficient incinerator capable of reducing waste mass to inert ash without polluting the atmosphere.  The incinerator has been used in several previous cleanup operations.

The Vessel SeaClean uses semi-submersible, propeller-driven pods to support an above water platform.  The design permits stability and maneuverability in rough seas.  Though it resembles an offshore oil platform, the vessel is self-propelled so it can manuever close to sources of spilled waste.  It has extendable booms to enfold the spill, and then draw it onto the platform for processing.  The design permits skimming from smooth or rough seas and processing of spilled material within environmental guidelines.

The Vessel SeaClean is also capable of efficient and environmentally sound offshore processing of municipal wastes and other materials when not responding to an emergency situation.

FUNCTION

A waterbourne processing plant to contain and clean up deep offshore oil and waste spills.

DESIGN

1. Semisubmersible, propeller-driven pods are used to support an above water platform, permitting stability and maneuverability in rough seas.
2. Self-propelelled allowing maneuvering close to sources of spilled waste.
3. Permits skimming from smooth or rough seas and processing of spilled material within environmental guidelines.
4. Engineered to segregate waste into six categories: oil, wood, rubber, plastic, cam waste, and soil (including rocks, sand and clay)
5. Safely houses a cleanup crew of more than 200, including operating from an on-board command post containing testing laboratories and satellite communication facilities for teleconferences and remote monitoring.

PROBLEM

Oil spills have happened and will inevitably happen again-big ones and small ones.  Such an event can be minimized with regulation, but it cannot be eliminated.  The problem to solve is not how to build a vessel in which it is impossible to have a spill but rather how to construct spill-containment gear that will complete the task in deep water locations.

If there is another Exxon Valdez incident - in the Gulf of Mexico, along the California coast, off Cape Cod-what can be done?  There's the real problem!  Spill containment equipment has not been sophisticated enough to be effective in turbulent waters. In other words, until now, the real problem is that the equipment to control a mega-spill has not been invented.

Not only is there a need for proper equipment to handle oil spills, an even greater need is to have the equipment available, in a minimum amount of time.  Herein lies the problem: Effective equipment must be immediately available to begin efficient operation on location of the oil spill, manned by expertly trained personnel for deep-water service.

The Environmental Battleship is the answer.

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GENERAL VESSEL DESCRIPTION

Tug/Barge

The 4,000-ton crude oil carrier has been designed to accommodate the efficient transportation of crude oil in an offshore environment.  During the early years of the offshore oil industry, barge/tug arrangements were employed to transport crude oil as the fields developed.  Pipelines were employed for the transmission of oil and gas.  Tug/Barge transportation was discouraged due to high cost of initial investment and operations.  The Kawasaki design has provided a new approach to crude oil transportation, due to the reduction of initial cost and low operating cost.

Principal Dimensions

Tug

Principal Dimensions

Barge

The cargo space is divided into 4 pairs of tanks and there are wing tanks and double bottom exclusively for ballast.

There are two cargo pumps each rated 2000 gpm at 150-foot head for uploading the entire cargo within 8 hours.

Two heating boilers of 3,000,000 BTU/HR capacity are provided to compensate heat loss during trips with 2" heating coils.  The barge shall be suitable to carry API degrees 15 with crude oil washing, vapor recovery systems and loading/unloading manifolds provided on the deck with a crane for hose handling.

The barge is to be classed by ABS for Class+A-1 unmanned ocean service and certificates by U.S. Coast Guard under 46 CFR Subchapter D and MAARPOL requirement under 33 CFR.

The barge is to be coupled to tug via Kawasaki Connection for full control of manueverability.