Page 38: of Marine News Magazine (October 2017)

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SPILL RESPONSE TECHNOLOGY

ROTOX working in heavy oil in a pit in

Venezuela several months ago.

Nigel Bennett, Cameron Janz (CEO) and Lee

Marshall (production manager) accepting the

RBS TRITON business excellence award.

tity: a few drops only. not aboard the Healy for the 30-day voyage. However, a

In an ice-strewn environment, the independent mobility technician did participate in installing the RotoX on the of the oil recovery equipment is critical, so the cutter or Healy and for training CG operators. Bennett said the icebreaker does not need to move, reposition or otherwise RotoX system “met and exceeded expectations” regarding control the skimmer. When the icebreaker moves it changes tests for maneuverability.

the seascape, pushing the surrounding ice and potentially Coast Guard personnel prepared an “After Action Report” eliminating the chance to recover pockets of oil. Similarly, detailing the RotoX’s strengths and weaknesses, but the full by remaining stationary, an icebreaker does not move itself text is not yet available. Initial reports noted some problems into contamination. A remote skimmer can keep the ice- with the ice-cutting teeth designed to chop ice into small breaker farther away from oil so the ship’s propellers or bow pieces. This part of the equipment requires further work. thrusters do not pull oil into the water column. But in the Arctic, this could be a challenge of scale. Bennett noted that the “ice cutting mechanism is not intended to

Summing Up & Looking Ahead macerate icebergs.” Rather, current equipment is intended

The initial Arctic RotoX mobility tests were encourag- to “chop up smaller ice chunks into slush with the intention ing. A Coast Guard news release on the project reports that of positioning the skimmer into pockets of spilled oil.” “during the trials, the team discovered that the skimmer In the meantime, Bennett said that R&D continues, fo- easily propelled itself through the ice