Maintenance

SpillMaster®  Permanent Oil Spill Containment Boom
User’s Guide   

GENERAL |  PLANNING | INSTALLATION  |  TOWING    
 ANCHORING & MOORING  |  MAINTENANCE  |  REPAIR  | SUMMARY

General  

Permanent oil spill containment booms are generally used in areas that have continual need for contingency oil spill containment. These areas include but are not limited to:

• Shipping terminals

• Oil refineries

• Petroleum and chemical storage or transfer facilities

• Ship storage facilities

• Naval Bases

• Ship building and repair yards

• Ship and boat fueling stations

• Industrial or municipal water intakes or outfalls

Fence type oil spill containment booms are referred to, as “permanent boom” because of its ability to remain in service for periods of time that can not be achieved with response boom.  

Permanent oil spill containment booms have a rigid or semi-rigid barrier fabric that act as a vertical fence to contain oil, chemicals, or debris floating on the water.  

Permanent booms are usually made of a fabric that is by far greater in tensile strength, abrasion resistance and Ultra-Violet ray resistance (UV resistance) than the fabric typically used in a less expensive response boom. The increased overall strength, abrasive, and UV resistant capabilities of the materials used in the construction of this product make it a clear and obvious choice for long term in water use. A typical consumer will generally have to replace response booms used in permanent installations six or seven times more often than an installation using a permanent boom system.  

Typical Permanent Boom

Typical Response Boom

Planning

The first consideration when planning a permanent oil spill boom installation should be designing the installation to maximize the successful containment of any potential spill. The second consideration should be to plan for the survivability of the installation from weather, abrasive conditions at the installation site, hazards from chemicals stored nearby, and hazards from waterborne traffic.  

A thorough survey of the installation site is required to identify the following areas:

• primary areas to be protected 

• Environmental Impacts (Including water intakes)

• High and low tides

• Predominant winds, wave actions, and currents

• Normal and extreme weather conditions

• Potential abrasion hazards

• areas that would be most suitable for ease of recovering the spilled product

• easy access areas for shoreline or floating recovery equipment operation

• storage area for the boom when not in use

• working area for cleaning and maintenance of the boom

• ancillary equipment to ease the installation such as:

  Bulkhead riser assemblies Cable guide assemblies Anchoring systems Boom light marker buoys Tide Slides Shoreline seals Pier skirts T-Connectors (Three-way Connectors) Custom assemblies for your installation needs

Consideration should be given to prevailing winds, weather, tides, current, water depth, type of bottom, boating and shipping traffic. If there is significant waterborne traffic boom light buoy markers may be appropriate to protect the installation from boating accidents.

If the weather in the planned area of deployment becomes extreme, it is recommended that you remove the boom from the water during such events.

Installation  

The boom should be unpacked and inspected for damage that may have occurred during shipment.  

Move the boom to the edge of the water without dragging it across rough surfaces or damaging the integrity of the floats and barrier surfaces. In general, the shipping crates may be used as pallets for transporting the boom to the launch area. Once at the edge of the water the towing bridle should be attached. The boom can be placed into the water and deployed.  

The boom sections should be connected together at this time. Once connected together you may then lock the sections securely in place via the connector toggle pins that are attached on the connectors. If the boom will not be opened on a regular basis, the connector toggle pins may be replaced with 3/8^th-inch stainless steel bolts and nuts. This will increase the reliability of the connection by removing movable parts from the connection. Sections that are deemed areas of convenient opening should remain with a toggle pin in place for ease of disconnection of the boom sections.

In general, a small sixteen to twenty-foot motorized workboat is recommended for boom system deployment. Tugboats and pusher boats are not recommended. If the boat selection for deployment is too large, the torque can cause significant damage to the boom system.

There are many methods and procedures for installing permanent oil spill containment boom. The instructions given here are general in nature and should be incorporated by your individual installation environment.

Once the boom has been placed in the water and ready for installation one of the following methods is recommended:

• In areas of deployment with currents, the boom should be towed up current and parallel to the deployment area. Secure the boom in place on the farthest up-current point of connection.  Turn the deployment craft out and away from the installation. Release the boom allowing it to drift into position for interconnection with cable hanger assemblies, bulkhead risers, mooring or anchoring systems.

• In areas of deployment in calm water, the boom should be towed into place. Secure the boom in place for interconnection with cable hanger assemblies, bulkhead risers, mooring or anchoring systems.

Towing  

Several attachments are available for towing the boom in the water. The towing plate or bridle may be attached in the same manner as attaching a connector. They can easily be secured to your workboat for trailing the boom behind.  

A towing bridle consists of a connector outfitted with a towing harness that evenly distributes the tension under load. The harness also has a pilot float to keep the connection point easily accessible when left unattended. The overall size of a towing harness is the same size as the connectors for your permanent boom.  

The tow plate assembly is a much smaller version of the towing bridle, without the float assembly on the harness. The assembly is eight-inches (20cm) overall, and attaches at the waterline.  

Never tie on to the top of the boom or the bottom of the boom alone. Improper attachment to the boom will cause an uneven load on the barrier fabric, and can cause significant damage to the boom. This can also cause the boom to twist while towing. This leads to a considerable amount of man-hours to correct.   

Some permanent boom comes with stainless steel eyebolts at the waterline. These eyebolts are intended for the securing of the boom when storing the boom in the water. These eyebolts are not intended for towing, but do provide a better chance of not damaging the boom, if towing without the proper towing bridle or towing plate assembly.

Anchoring and Mooring  

The majority of permanent oil spill boom is commonly the fence type. The fence type of permanent oil spill boom is made up with a stiff barrier fabric with flotation elements and ballast elements attached.  

The barrier fabric functions as the tension member in most configurations of permanent boom. Response boom generally uses a chain for the tension-bearing member. Ballast is provided on our products from galvanized steel or lead weights that are either riveted or bolted near the bottom of the barrier skirt. The floats are bolted or riveted near the top edge of the barrier fabric, depending on the variation or specification provided.  

Mooring and anchoring of the boom should be accomplished by attaching to the top and bottom of the end connectors or mid-boom anchoring points (If included). This will prevent the boom from tripping or rolling due to uneven forces acting on the boom. By doing so, a loss of product from the containment boom is less likely to occur.  

Appropriate anchors should be selected for the type of sea bottom, tides, and currents you have at the installation site. The anchor line should be four times the water depth at high tide, as a general rule of thumb. A standoff buoy should be employed to keep an even pull on the boom while anchored.  

When mid-boom anchor points are provided, be sure to use both top and bottom connection points. Using both connection points will prevent undue strain on the barrier fabric and decrease the possibility of boom and containment failure.    

Maintenance  

Marine growth on the barrier fabric is inevitable during extended periods of deployment. The same may also be true of damage sustained because of boating or shipping traffic hazards.  

Regular and consistent inspections of the installation will identify when these occurrences happen, and allow you to schedule maintenance before the boom has a decreased efficiency in its performance.  

Small to moderate amounts of marine growth can be removed by pressure washing the boom while it is still in the water. A small craft may be useful to assist in this method. A small pressure washer should be used to complete this operation. Large accumulated growth may require that the boom be removed from the water. If this is the case manual scrubbing with nylon bristle brushes may be required.    

Repair  

Common damage to permanent oil spill boom may occur from one of many causes:

• Accidental ship or boat traffic.
• Crushing between ship and pier.
• Crushing between barge and pier or vessel.
• Abrasion from pilings.
• Abrasion from incorrect deployment around a vessel.
• Barrier fabric damage from improper towing, anchoring, or mooring.
• Connector damage from improper towing, anchoring, or mooring
• Damage from weather conditions of unexpected or severe magnitude.

Should floats become damaged, they are easily replaced with a new float assembly. Unbolt the damaged floats and bolt on the replacements. Replacement floats are available through the sales representative.  

Should the barrier fabric become torn, the tear may be covered with replacement fabric and bolted snugly.

If the barrier fabric has a tear or hole that spans more than 25% of the height, the fabric may require a splice to repair it properly. To splice the fabric, the hole or tear must be cut out. The fabric should be cut straight. The remaining fabric should then be placed together with the edges overlapping each other by at least two inches (5 cm).  Take one of the splice reinforcement plates and use it as a drill guide to drill the splice connection holes. Once the drilling has been completed, place the other splice reinforcement plate behind the fabric, sandwiching it. Insert the bolts through all of the holes, using the flat washers on both reinforcement plates and secure with a locknut. Once all bolts have been loosely secured, they may be tightened with the proper tools. Reinforcement plates and repair kits can be provided by your sales representative.  

Connectors that require reattachment to the barrier fabric may be repaired by trimming the torn end of the fabric and bolting the connector to the fresh fabric. Removal of a float section may be required if there is not enough fabric available for reattachment.  

If damage has occurred in the middle of a float section of the barrier fabric, the removal of the float and damaged fabric may be required. This process will shorten the length of the boom. The fabric may then be spliced in the same manner that was explained previously. An alternative to splicing the boom in the middle would be to add connectors at the freshly cut edges, instead of splicing the fabric together.      

Summary  

SpillMaster® permanent oil spill containment boom can be expected to provide a long and enduring reliability. To insure a desirable performance of the permanent oil spill boom, the following recommendations are given:

• Routinely inspect the boom and ancillary equipment.
• Repair damage in a timely manner.
• Clean the boom of marine growth.
• Never tow the boom from the top or bottom alone.
• Remove the boom from the water during extreme storms.