Late last week, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Oil Spill Response Division Chief David Moore, along with U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Office of Marine Environmental Response Policy Chief Captain Claudia Gelzer and Lieutenant Commander Wes James, viewed a 42-foot long skimming vessel test, the first-of-its-size at Ohmsett, BSEE’s National Oil Spill Response Research and Renewable Energy Test Facility in Leonardo, New Jersey.
The 42-foot long oil skimming vessel was placed in the tank at Ohmsett to test the vessels’ oil recovery rate. The vessel, designed with integrated floating collection arms and hydrocarbon separation tank, was shipped from France for the test. Moore and Ohmsett Facility Manager Bill Schmidt gave the USCG visitors a tour of the test where the group went both onboard the vessel and along the main and auxiliary bridges above the tank to view the test. The group then visited the facility’s onsite oil/water laboratory where Ohmsett Senior Test Engineer Alan Guarino talked about the oils and dispersants used during research experiments conducted at the facility.
BSEE is the principal federal agency funding offshore oil spill response research, and Ohmsett is a key part of the bureau’s Oil Spill Response Research Program.
Press Release, August 27, 2014; Image: BSEE