Final Report Summary - OSH (Oil sea harvester)
The OSH project addressed the need for vessels specifically designed to recover oil pollution at sea. The intention was to have a fast ship on transit, in order to be quickly on the scene of the accident, and to operate oil recovery tools when the spill is still well concentrated. It is also required to be able to operate in rather high sea states. The specific project objectives included the following:
- To develop an innovative trimaran OSH vessel fitted with PODs for good manoeuvrability on site.
- To develop OSH oil recovery systems, a unique tool carriage holding the different tools.
- To develop OSH oil recovery scenarios and needed associated systems.
- To address other complementary missions.
The work during the project was divided into 11 work packages: project management (WP1), definition of OSH profile for oil recovery missions (WP2), preliminary ship design (WP3), design of oil recovery systems (WP4), hydrodynamics and tank tests (WP5), development and prototype testing of tools and tool carriages (WP6), definition of oil recovery missions and other missions (WP7), safety and rules compliance (WP8), final project integration (WP9), economic analysis (WP10), documentation and dissemination (WP11).
The overall objective of WP1 was to manage the OSH project. Also, it was to disseminate and prepare the commercialisation of the project results. These activities involved liaison with the Commission, technical co-ordination, monitoring and controlling of work progress according with the work programme, issues relating to cost registration and validation, budget control, reporting, invoicing and audit management.
The objective of WP2 was to clarify and finalise the setting up of the requirements for the OSH to be designed by the project, taking into account actual risks of oil spills in European waters, lessons learnt from recent spills, as well as the needs identified and expressed by national and regional authorities in Europe.
The overall objective of WP3 was to define a preliminary design that would be the starting point of the project regarding further optimisation of the vessel and integration of the tool carriage and tools according to requirements defined in WP2.
The goal of the development project under WP4 was to develop an oil recovery system for offshore use, which was divided into two separate realms: oil recovery equipment based on the brush technology and on an alternative system (ESCA) suited for low viscosity oil; and transfer of the collected oil by pumping to the tanks of the ship.
The overall objective of WP5 was to assess the performance of the oil recovery system within the global ship performances required in operability and transit conditions for oil recovery, and its complementary missions (maritime surveillance, rescue, etc.). The global performance of the ship was concerned with: hull resistance in transit conditions; sea-keeping improvement both in transit and in operation in quite severe seas; performance of the oil recovery system in regards with the flow field and water elevations between the hulls.
The objective of WP6 was closely connected to WP4 and WP5 (development of the oil recovery tools and carriage and assessment of their performance). The task of this WP was to build the prototype of the oil recovery tools and carriage and to test it in as close as possible to offshore conditions.
The task included the following steps: design and manufacture of a prototype model; speed tests of the brushes in different oils; stability tests of the equipment; test drives in basins with different kinds of oils; and recovered oil pumping tests.
The objective of WP7 was to define the operational use for the OSH that was designed in the previous tasks. The purpose was to precise the integration of the OSH into oil spill response plans, as regards both the logistics of the response, the interaction with other means of recovery, and the monitoring of the pollution, from detection to drift predictions, including information sharing processes and guidance.
The objective of WP8 was to coalesce the operational design of the project vessel with the constructional regulations associated with both Classification and (applicable) International or Flag State requirements. This involved not only detailed assessment at the WP8 stage but also ongoing review, monitoring and advice in previous Work Packages. In this aspect, this work package was to act as, in some respects, 'technical referee' to the project.
In the work package WP9, all technical information of the different parts of the system derived from the other Work Packages would be assembled. The aim was to have a definition of the concept as a complete system ready to be proposed to a potential customer and accurate enough to be able to evaluate the cost of the ship itself and the associated systems. It was intended that the different parts of the system were developed and validated enough during the project to be presented as a viable concept that could be further developed industrially.
WP10 covered the economical analysis concerning the development and the operation of the proposed ship. More specifically, the main objectives of this work package were: to assess the economical potential of the specific investment; to incorporate and elaborate various categories of costs such as operational costs, maintenance costs, etc.
Finally, WP11 handled the documentation, the dissemination and the final report of the OSH project. More specifically, the main objectives of this work package were: the scientific dissemination of the project and of its results; the commercial promotion of the project and of its results; the exploitation of the project's concept and result to the shipping industry; and the formulation of the final project report, which included the project's conclusions and proposes areas of future work.
The OSH project was dedicated to the study and design of an oil spill recovery vessel liable to enhance notably the efficiency of response operations at a European level.
As a first step of this study, it was logical to perform an analysis of the needs (taking into account actual risks of oil spills in European waters, lessons learnt from recent spills, as well as the needs identified and expressed by national and regional authorities in Europe), and to deduct, from this analysis, the main requirements for the OSH to fit to this needs (abilities of the vessel and dimensional requirements associated).
The methodology consisted in performing successive investigations, leading to the final objective of the technical requirements, which would be a basis for the developments in the further steps of the project.
The overall objective of the preliminary ship design was to define a preliminary design that was the starting point of the project regarding further optimisation of the vessel and integration of the tool carriage and tools according to requirements defined in the previous section.
Hull lines design and general arrangement definition are closely related tasks. Therefore work was performed in parallel taking into accounts the different requirements derived from the definition of requirements described in the previous section or other technical requirements.
An essential part of oil spill recovery operations is the pumping of the high viscous oils. This was presented as the state of the art of transferring high viscous oils. Specifically this report was concentrated on the pumping of the recovered oil on the OSH type recovery arrangement. The Positive Displacement Archimedes Screw type pump (PDAS) was presented in detail as the solution for the OSH oil transfer pumping requirements for oils of low to extremely high viscosities. The design and interfaces of the tools carriage and the recovery tools with the ship were also presented.
This work aimed at a double objective, based upon the realization of three main tasks:
- Development of the oil recovery tools for recovering different kinds of pollutants in offshore conditions.
- Development of the tools carriage.
- Development of the technology for transferring the recovered pollutants to the tanks on board the OSH.
The overall objective of the optimisation of hydrodynamic performance was to assess the performances of the oil recovery system within the global ship performances required in operability and transit conditions for oil recovery, and its complementary missions (maritime surveillance, rescue). The two main tasks conducted within this were the following:
- The numerical optimisation of the hydrodynamic performances of the preliminary design with the following objectives: To minimise ship resistance power requirement for the maximum target speed (transit phase) and to improve the sea-keeping behaviour of the OSH concept in both transit and operational conditions.
- The experimental assessment of these performances.
The final steps of the development of the oil recovery system on board OSH included modifications made to the system following a test series made at CEDRE in France. There were also a series of tests made under the supervision of Bureau Veritas after modifications were made to the brush skimmer conveyor belt according to the experience and results from the CEDRE tests. A discussion on the recovery of light oils with the weir skimmer and a description of the pumping system for the recovered oil on board OSH were also given.
The OSH project was dedicated to the study and design of an oil spill recovery vessel liable to enhance notably the efficiency of response operations at a European level. In parallel to various technical developments a specific work was also devoted to study and design the exploitation which could be made of the OSH, particularly through its operational use, both in crisis time (oil recovery) and in peacetime. To this extent, the work carried out devoted to this objective aimed at a double purpose:
- To precise the operational use of the OSH in crisis time.
- To investigate other possible missions for the OSH in peacetime in order to improve its profitability, taking into account the compatibility of these missions with oil spill combating availability and operational constraints.
All the technical information of the different parts of the system was assembled. The aim was to have a definition of the concept as a complete system ready to be proposed to a potential customer and accurate enough to be able to evaluate the cost of the ship itself and the associated systems.
The aim was to give a technical definition of the ship. To succeed, all the technical information such as the optimised and updated drawings of the tools carriage or hull forms were verified and assembled. During the project, the members of the consortium decided to increase the profitability of the OSH (to make it easier to sell to a potential customer) by giving to the OSH the possibility to accomplish other missions than recover oil at sea. A new version called 'multi-purpose' version was developed and the work made in preliminary ship design had to be updated.
A comprehensive economical analysis concerning the development and the operation of the proposed ship was fundamental in order to investigate the commercial viability of the project. More specifically, the main objectives of this work were: to assess the economical potential of the specific investment, to incorporate and elaborate various categories of costs such as operational costs, maintenance costs, etc., to pinpoint all associated benefits arising from the operation of the Oil Spill Harvester and to present the overall financial and cost-benefit balance regarding the viability and the usefulness of the proposed ship.
As an overall conclusion, it can be said that all the studies and final tests demonstrated clearly that the OSH could sail in high sea states, and thanks to its excellent behaviour in sea keeping its tools could operate efficiently in harsh conditions to recover oil at sea, even the very viscous oils like the Erika one. It therefore represented a very comprehensive, efficient and feasible solution that was believed to be of great benefit and interest to the European Agency for Safety at Sea.
- To develop an innovative trimaran OSH vessel fitted with PODs for good manoeuvrability on site.
- To develop OSH oil recovery systems, a unique tool carriage holding the different tools.
- To develop OSH oil recovery scenarios and needed associated systems.
- To address other complementary missions.
The work during the project was divided into 11 work packages: project management (WP1), definition of OSH profile for oil recovery missions (WP2), preliminary ship design (WP3), design of oil recovery systems (WP4), hydrodynamics and tank tests (WP5), development and prototype testing of tools and tool carriages (WP6), definition of oil recovery missions and other missions (WP7), safety and rules compliance (WP8), final project integration (WP9), economic analysis (WP10), documentation and dissemination (WP11).
The overall objective of WP1 was to manage the OSH project. Also, it was to disseminate and prepare the commercialisation of the project results. These activities involved liaison with the Commission, technical co-ordination, monitoring and controlling of work progress according with the work programme, issues relating to cost registration and validation, budget control, reporting, invoicing and audit management.
The objective of WP2 was to clarify and finalise the setting up of the requirements for the OSH to be designed by the project, taking into account actual risks of oil spills in European waters, lessons learnt from recent spills, as well as the needs identified and expressed by national and regional authorities in Europe.
The overall objective of WP3 was to define a preliminary design that would be the starting point of the project regarding further optimisation of the vessel and integration of the tool carriage and tools according to requirements defined in WP2.
The goal of the development project under WP4 was to develop an oil recovery system for offshore use, which was divided into two separate realms: oil recovery equipment based on the brush technology and on an alternative system (ESCA) suited for low viscosity oil; and transfer of the collected oil by pumping to the tanks of the ship.
The overall objective of WP5 was to assess the performance of the oil recovery system within the global ship performances required in operability and transit conditions for oil recovery, and its complementary missions (maritime surveillance, rescue, etc.). The global performance of the ship was concerned with: hull resistance in transit conditions; sea-keeping improvement both in transit and in operation in quite severe seas; performance of the oil recovery system in regards with the flow field and water elevations between the hulls.
The objective of WP6 was closely connected to WP4 and WP5 (development of the oil recovery tools and carriage and assessment of their performance). The task of this WP was to build the prototype of the oil recovery tools and carriage and to test it in as close as possible to offshore conditions.
The task included the following steps: design and manufacture of a prototype model; speed tests of the brushes in different oils; stability tests of the equipment; test drives in basins with different kinds of oils; and recovered oil pumping tests.
The objective of WP7 was to define the operational use for the OSH that was designed in the previous tasks. The purpose was to precise the integration of the OSH into oil spill response plans, as regards both the logistics of the response, the interaction with other means of recovery, and the monitoring of the pollution, from detection to drift predictions, including information sharing processes and guidance.
The objective of WP8 was to coalesce the operational design of the project vessel with the constructional regulations associated with both Classification and (applicable) International or Flag State requirements. This involved not only detailed assessment at the WP8 stage but also ongoing review, monitoring and advice in previous Work Packages. In this aspect, this work package was to act as, in some respects, 'technical referee' to the project.
In the work package WP9, all technical information of the different parts of the system derived from the other Work Packages would be assembled. The aim was to have a definition of the concept as a complete system ready to be proposed to a potential customer and accurate enough to be able to evaluate the cost of the ship itself and the associated systems. It was intended that the different parts of the system were developed and validated enough during the project to be presented as a viable concept that could be further developed industrially.
WP10 covered the economical analysis concerning the development and the operation of the proposed ship. More specifically, the main objectives of this work package were: to assess the economical potential of the specific investment; to incorporate and elaborate various categories of costs such as operational costs, maintenance costs, etc.
Finally, WP11 handled the documentation, the dissemination and the final report of the OSH project. More specifically, the main objectives of this work package were: the scientific dissemination of the project and of its results; the commercial promotion of the project and of its results; the exploitation of the project's concept and result to the shipping industry; and the formulation of the final project report, which included the project's conclusions and proposes areas of future work.
The OSH project was dedicated to the study and design of an oil spill recovery vessel liable to enhance notably the efficiency of response operations at a European level.
As a first step of this study, it was logical to perform an analysis of the needs (taking into account actual risks of oil spills in European waters, lessons learnt from recent spills, as well as the needs identified and expressed by national and regional authorities in Europe), and to deduct, from this analysis, the main requirements for the OSH to fit to this needs (abilities of the vessel and dimensional requirements associated).
The methodology consisted in performing successive investigations, leading to the final objective of the technical requirements, which would be a basis for the developments in the further steps of the project.
The overall objective of the preliminary ship design was to define a preliminary design that was the starting point of the project regarding further optimisation of the vessel and integration of the tool carriage and tools according to requirements defined in the previous section.
Hull lines design and general arrangement definition are closely related tasks. Therefore work was performed in parallel taking into accounts the different requirements derived from the definition of requirements described in the previous section or other technical requirements.
An essential part of oil spill recovery operations is the pumping of the high viscous oils. This was presented as the state of the art of transferring high viscous oils. Specifically this report was concentrated on the pumping of the recovered oil on the OSH type recovery arrangement. The Positive Displacement Archimedes Screw type pump (PDAS) was presented in detail as the solution for the OSH oil transfer pumping requirements for oils of low to extremely high viscosities. The design and interfaces of the tools carriage and the recovery tools with the ship were also presented.
This work aimed at a double objective, based upon the realization of three main tasks:
- Development of the oil recovery tools for recovering different kinds of pollutants in offshore conditions.
- Development of the tools carriage.
- Development of the technology for transferring the recovered pollutants to the tanks on board the OSH.
The overall objective of the optimisation of hydrodynamic performance was to assess the performances of the oil recovery system within the global ship performances required in operability and transit conditions for oil recovery, and its complementary missions (maritime surveillance, rescue). The two main tasks conducted within this were the following:
- The numerical optimisation of the hydrodynamic performances of the preliminary design with the following objectives: To minimise ship resistance power requirement for the maximum target speed (transit phase) and to improve the sea-keeping behaviour of the OSH concept in both transit and operational conditions.
- The experimental assessment of these performances.
The final steps of the development of the oil recovery system on board OSH included modifications made to the system following a test series made at CEDRE in France. There were also a series of tests made under the supervision of Bureau Veritas after modifications were made to the brush skimmer conveyor belt according to the experience and results from the CEDRE tests. A discussion on the recovery of light oils with the weir skimmer and a description of the pumping system for the recovered oil on board OSH were also given.
The OSH project was dedicated to the study and design of an oil spill recovery vessel liable to enhance notably the efficiency of response operations at a European level. In parallel to various technical developments a specific work was also devoted to study and design the exploitation which could be made of the OSH, particularly through its operational use, both in crisis time (oil recovery) and in peacetime. To this extent, the work carried out devoted to this objective aimed at a double purpose:
- To precise the operational use of the OSH in crisis time.
- To investigate other possible missions for the OSH in peacetime in order to improve its profitability, taking into account the compatibility of these missions with oil spill combating availability and operational constraints.
All the technical information of the different parts of the system was assembled. The aim was to have a definition of the concept as a complete system ready to be proposed to a potential customer and accurate enough to be able to evaluate the cost of the ship itself and the associated systems.
The aim was to give a technical definition of the ship. To succeed, all the technical information such as the optimised and updated drawings of the tools carriage or hull forms were verified and assembled. During the project, the members of the consortium decided to increase the profitability of the OSH (to make it easier to sell to a potential customer) by giving to the OSH the possibility to accomplish other missions than recover oil at sea. A new version called 'multi-purpose' version was developed and the work made in preliminary ship design had to be updated.
A comprehensive economical analysis concerning the development and the operation of the proposed ship was fundamental in order to investigate the commercial viability of the project. More specifically, the main objectives of this work were: to assess the economical potential of the specific investment, to incorporate and elaborate various categories of costs such as operational costs, maintenance costs, etc., to pinpoint all associated benefits arising from the operation of the Oil Spill Harvester and to present the overall financial and cost-benefit balance regarding the viability and the usefulness of the proposed ship.
As an overall conclusion, it can be said that all the studies and final tests demonstrated clearly that the OSH could sail in high sea states, and thanks to its excellent behaviour in sea keeping its tools could operate efficiently in harsh conditions to recover oil at sea, even the very viscous oils like the Erika one. It therefore represented a very comprehensive, efficient and feasible solution that was believed to be of great benefit and interest to the European Agency for Safety at Sea.
