Oil containment tests of fire booms

Oil collection performance of five currently available fire booms were tested in an Ohmsett test tank. Test tank performance was compared with at-sea tow test results for planing/submergence failure to establish the potential for use in in-situ burning of marine oil spills. It was found that the buoyancy-to-weight ratio of the booms had a loose correlation to oil containment performance. However, it was the material and the construction of the booms that appeared to have the most significant effect on performance. Steel-skirted booms showed better performance than fabric-skirted booms, despite lower buoyancy-to-weight ratio. Performance in the tank test was better than that in at-sea tests. 7 refs., 5 tabs., 8 figs