> > > OIL SPILL FEATURE - Expandi Self-Inflatable Oil Boom
TIER1 puts the rapid in Oil Spill First Response As we all know, when an oil spill occurs there is usually no warning and it can occur anywhere. Not just out on the open sea but in harbours, rivers or in any waterway. Being prepared for such an event is obviously the best defence and when the emergency occurs TIER1 believes it has the perfect solution.
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IER1 IS A PARTNERSHIP of likeminded Australian companies including Perth Petroleum Services in the west and Global Spill Control on the east coast. Both companies are extremely proactive and dedicated to this environmentally sensitive task. Together they have a wealth of practical, hands-on experience spanning over 20 years in spill containment and recovery, as well as in training and the manufacture of related emergency spill containment equipment. Although it’s only part of the Tier1 story, one of its smartest containment weapons for use in almost any spill emergency is the Expandi Self-Inflatable Oil Boom. Manufactured by Norway’s leading oil spill equipment designer Expandi Systems, the Self- Inflatable Oil Boom is ideal in an emergency and particularly when every second counts. In late November 2013, Tier1 held a demonstration event in Perth, Western Australia at Fremantle Harbour. The event was designed to showcase the Expandi SelfInflatable Oil Boom. Tier1 considers this particular boom to be the best first response oil containment boom available and knew that the best way to prove its capabilities was to test it in real time and in front of the very people who have to deal with containment incidents. Perth Petroleum Services and Tier1invited over 60 guests to the demonstration event, which included senior managers and executives from WA’s Oil & Gas sector, mine site operators, maritime operators, industry and government regulators, environmental experts and harbour and port operators. Held in the heart of Fremantle Harbour, outside the majestic Fremantle Maritime Museum, Tier1 guests saw two separate deployment exercises to highlight the frontline benefits of the Expandi Self-Inflatable Oil Boom. In the first exercise to simulate helicopter deployment, which is a feature unique to Expandi, the boom was dropped from the Harbour’s response vessel.
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The second demonstration revealed the speed of deployment from the wharf. Here the boom was deployed and fully inflated in less than 3 minutes. Following the deployment, guests were extremely impressed when the boom was reclaimed in less than 10 minutes. Those who witnessed the demonstration considered that the boom’s performance under real life-like conditions was second to none. So much so, that Tier1 is now promoting the Expandi Self-Inflatable Boom in Australia and has invested in enough stock to supply this highly efficient containment device anywhere in the country. Further demonstrations are also planned in other locations in Australia and Tier1 can be contacted if your organisation is Above: The fully reclaimed Expandi Boom – packed and ready to go. Left: The Expandi Self-Inflatable Boom is capable of helicopter deployment for fast response. Below left: About to deploy the Expandi Self-Inflating Boom. Below right: Fully reclaiming the Expandi Self-Inflatable Boom tool in less than 10 minutes. Opposite page: Expandi Self-Inflatable Boom in action in Europe.
interested in seeing this remarkable boom at work. Traditional oil containment booms are generally time consuming to deploy, due to their size and the sheer logistics of transporting them to the incident site. Once on site, they usually have to be inflated which requires the transportation of extra ancillary equipment such as air hoses, compressors and power packs. Inflation itself can be difficult in rough sea/weather conditions and once inflated these booms can puncture making them ineffective so containment of the spill is no longer possible.
However, the Expandi Self-Inflatable Oil Boom shares none of those characteristics and it doesn’t require the transportation of a heavy and cumbersome reel. It can be deployed from the dockside or the shore, delivered if necessary on the back of a truck. It can be transported to the oil spill site by a small motorised vessel or simply dropped by helicopter in close proximity to the spill to be deployed by personnel on any small or large vessel in the vicinity. Of course the Expandi Self-Inflatable Oil Boom doesn’t need to be inflated by an external ‘air’ source, it automatically inflates in seconds as it is unrolled. Due to the fact that it is ‘inflated’ at atmospheric pressure, even if it is punctured or ripped it will not sink. Importantly, an oil spill can disperse rapidly to infiltrate a greater area depending on weather conditions so a rapid response is critical. For port authorities, state and local governments, oil and gas offshore rig managers, there is often extra pressure exerted by influences beyond the spill they are trying to contain. When there is an oil spill in a harbour or close to shore and the media is alerted, usually the public then understandably,