Page 48: of Marine News Magazine (October 2016)

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BoomVane – A Powerful Boom Deployment System he BoomVane is one of the most useful and interest- • 2.5m BoomVane for coastal and offshore single vessel advancing mode operations ing tools available to oil spill responders for shoreline

T and single vessel boom deployment. Maintaining an effective oil containment boom con? guration with two Powerful Performance

An evaluation of the BoomVane and a similar device in vessels is dif? cult to coordinate. The Elastec BoomVane solves that problem. BoomVane can also tow heavier the late 1990s took place on the Illinois River near St. Lou- booms greater distances than an outrigger arm resulting in is, Missouri. The BoomVane was the clear winner at pull- ing and holding a boom from the shore into the current. It wider sweep swaths.

Illinois-based Elastec is the manufacturer and owner of was so powerful, the mooring line pulled a 3-foot diameter the proprietary BoomVane technology. Elastec offers four boulder into the river. Even a pickup truck has been pulled

BoomVane sizes to accommodate various water depths. into the water by the powerful BoomVane. Finding an ap-

They are manufactured in the Company’s ISO 9001:2008 propriate mooring base is imperative as the towing force is facility in Carmi, Illinois, along with a complete line of even more powerful in strong currents.

When using the BoomVane from the shore, the de? ec- oil skimmers, work boats, containment boom, ? re boom, tion mode is relatively easy to deploy. The force of a 2 knot vacuum systems, portable incinerators and other environ- current on 200 ft of boom with a 12-inch skirt is approxi- mental equipment. These include: mately 4,400 pounds — 2 tons of water. The BoomVane • 0.5m BoomVane for shallow waters (less than 1m / 3 ft) and its boom system have a geometry that share the load • 1.0m BoomVane for shore-based and vessel sweep applications in rivers and coastal waters of the boom with the mooring line, but there are still high • 1.5m BoomVane to handle larger and longer forces that can place over 2,000 pounds on the mooring lengths of oil containment boom line. The mooring line and hardware that is included in the BoomVane is rated well above these forces and should not be replaced by anything inferior.

As with any oil spill equipment, to operate the Boom-

Vane successfully and safely, training and practice are vital.

Although simple in design and operation, safe deployment of the BoomVane requires training and adherence to the guidelines along with an abundance of common sense and practice. The Elastec BoomVane manual appendix contains diagrams, safety information and data tables for proper distances, lengths and forces. The maximum current speed should also be determined to ensure the mooring point is strong enough. An alternative to ? xed anchor points may be stakes in plates or Elastec’s Terra Twist anchoring system.

With the proper training, the Elastec BoomVane simpli- ? es the challenges of booming, especially in a fast river.

The critical factors for successful BoomVane deployment are having the equipment in good, ready condition, per- sonnel trained to assemble and deploy, identi? cation of strong mooring points, and practice, practice, practice.

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