Globally, there are situations where oil collection and efficient recovery is essential. Oil that ends up in the sea and spreads over a wide area of a shipping lane following a spill incident is in fact an everyday reality. The huge rise in the volumes of oil transported by sea during recent decades has led to a considerable increase of oil discharged into the sea following spill incidents. It may be that the amount of an oil spill is large, in Finland the authorities have estimated 30,000 tons.
In the event of a spill incident, the spread of oil from the sea towards coastlines must be prevented by all means. In this time-limited collection operation, the chain of operation of new technology equipment for continuous collection is required to achieve efficient recovery of spilled oil.
How much can be achieved in 12 hours?
Many people are unaware that a large amount of oil will reach part of the Gulf of Finland archipelago in 12 hours in the event of a spill. However, this can happen in reality, not just in theory. Millions of tons of crude oil are transported dangerously close to our unique archipelago.
IMCO once estimated that supertankers travelling at a speed of 15 knots, require a stopping distance of approximately six nautical miles. In practice, the time and the distance covered leads to approximately one-fifth of the tank volume being discharged immediately into the sea, i.e. the quantity of the oil that is in the tank above the water surface level. After that, water, which is heavier than oil, rushes into the tank, lifting the remaining oil, which discharges out, forming an oil trail on the sea surface. The trail expands, driven by the wind, spreading lengthwise along the coast.
In connection with the above, on any of the 365 days of the year accidents are possible during transportation and damage caused by spills may occur in situations where the wind direction is towards the shores and has a strength of 11 to 12 metres per second. When oil moves at a speed which is 3 % of the wind speed, its transition time from the transport route of the Gulf of Finland to the eastern archipelago is approximately 21 hours, and in the western part 17 hours, to Porkkalanniemi only 12 hours.
Therefore it is a question about a collection time which is determined and limited by the wind. The duration is of utmost importance in a limited time operation, which means that an unbroken chain of operation is needed and necessary for collecting and recovering the oil.
