TWIN-HULL OIL SPILL RECOVERY SHIP BOTTSAND

In recent years there have been a number of incidents of oil spillage involving both tankers and offshore platforms. As a countermeasure to the threat of pollution of North Sea coasts, The West German shipyard C. Luthring GmbH and Co. with the support of the Federal Ministry of Research and Technology, has developed a so-called multipurpose oil spill recovery vessel. The prototype Thor was built and successfully tested in 1981. The experience gained in the construction and operation of Thor has been applied to the development of an enlarged and improved sistership, Bottsand. The basic concept is for a normal' coastal tanker of 500 tons, with a longitudinally-split hull which is separated hydraulically to deal with an oil spill. Principal particulars include:-- Normal' Tanker Mode; length 46.3 m o.a.; breadth 12.0 m; depth 5.2 m; draught 3.1 m; deadweight 650 t; cargo tank capacity 790 cu. m; propulsion 2 x 600 kW Schottel rudder propellers. Oil Recovery Mode'; Sweeping breadth about 42 m; speed about 1 knot; processing rate for a 2 mm thick oil layer 140 cu. m/h.