Development of Bottom Oil Recovery Systems. Revised

Facilities or vessels which store or transport heavy and/or sinking oils in U.S. waters must identify response organizations and strategies for responding to spills of these products, including identifying methods for assessing, containing, recovering oil and decanting oil and water from subsurface environments. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has acknowledged current technologies are not adequate to accomplish these objectives. The objective of this project was to develop and test viable designs for systems which can detect and recover oil from subsurface environments. The USCG Research and Development Center (RDC) first addressed detection issues and determined that laser fluorometry and multi-beam sonar were the best practice. RDC then developed specifications and awarded three contracts to design a complete detection and recovery system to Alion Science & Technology Corporation, Marine Pollution Control, and the Oil Stop Division of American Pollution Control. In 2011, these three companies were awarded options to build prototypes for testing. This report describes the designs of the three systems and results from prototype testing at the Ohmsett test facility in Leonardo, New Jersey. It also discusses the path forward for submerged oil detection, recovery, and decanting. In Section B, this report provides guidance for Federal On Scene Coordinators (FOSC) on the unique issues that need to be addressed before attempting detection and recovery of any oil sitting on the bottom. Based on this project, guidance is provided for assessment of the environment, selection of recovery techniques and decanting and a list of case histories. Revision of report dated Jun 2013. Prepared in Report for Shearwater Systems, LLC., New London, CT.