New BoomVane from Elastec

American company Elastec has demonstrated its new 1.5 metre BoomVane oil recovery system off the coast of France. The BoomVane is designed to recover oil spills using just one towing vessel thus reducing costs considerably when compared with other systems that require two towing vessels to deploy the boom.

The BoomVane operates in a similar way to the other boards used by fishermen to keep a trawl open underwater. By being towed with a bridle against the forward movement of the towing vessel the BoomVane angles away from the vessel, creating a sideways pull on its towing rope. This sideways pull can be used to deploy the oil collection boom and on the trials in France the flexible boom was deployed up to 25 metres away from the towing vessel creating a wide oil collection path with just the one towing vessel.

Elastec combine the BoomVane with their inflatable oil collection boom with the BoomVane towed from the bow of the vessel and the boom itself deployed from the stern so that it stretches out in a wide arc. The inflatable section of the boom remains on the surface with the skirt below collecting the oil. The winds on the trial were up to 15 knots and the waves up to one metre and this new heavy duty BoomVane is claimed to have worked well in these conditions.

During the seas trials the vessel was able to manoeuvre in both directions enabling it to follow an oil spill. An 80-meter French Navy vessel was used as the towing vessel and the trials were attended by representatives from a number of European organisations including the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

“We were anxious to learn how the swath width would vary with different lengths of boom behind the 1.5m BoomVane,” said Jeff Cantrell of Elastec, “We wanted to know how much force and towing capacity it had.”

The test in France, although successful, also identified some changes that could improve the performance of the device. Those improvements were made, including a determination of the optimal size of boom and skirt to partner with the new 1.5m version of the BoomVane.

Elastec offers a range of their BoomVane suitable for operation in a variety of conditions from inland waters to the open sea. Another innovative BoomVane tool for dispersant application, the Elastec Coastal BoomVaneSpray system will be launched in the near future.