Improvements in/or relating to oil containment booms

An oil containment boom 4 for containing oil spills, which might occur during the transfer of oil / oil products between ship and shore or ship and ship, is disclosed comprising a semi-rigid buoyant member 15 having a skirt 16 suspended below it, hingeably secured at one end 6 to a quay 1 and with a compressible member 7 at the other. The means of deployment is to manoeuvre a pair of booms 4A,4B so that the compressible members 7 are in contact with the hull 3A of the ship 3 and secure them in position, thus forming a containment area between ship, quay and the two booms. The oil transfer pipes 8 are passed over or through this containment area so that any spills which might occur will be confined within it and can be removed without contaminating the rest of the harbour /port. The buoyant member 15 is composed of essentially parallel cords (20, Fig 7) running axially along the length and confined circumferentially to provide a semi-rigid boom. The cords are made of water-resistant buoyant material.