ADVANCEMENTS IN UNDERWATER OIL DETECTION AND RECOVERY TECHNIQUES

Abstract

The marine salvage and commercial diving industries have increasingly been sought out to prevent oil spills from submerged shipwrecks, and to detect and recover spilled oil below the surface once a subsea spill occurs. In recent years, underwater oil recovery techniques have advanced from predominantly surface-supplied diver installed vacuum or pumping systems in relatively shallow waters to the use of saturation diving systems and remotely operated vehicles at greater depths. Underwater oil detection technologies have advanced permitting the detection of spilled oil in the water column, on the bottom and in the subsurface. For oil trapped within a sunken shipwreck, neutron backscatter technology has been successfully applied to locate oil inside the ship. Additionally, the International Maritime Organization, U.S. Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have published regulations, guidance and studies in the past five years in an effort to improve submerged oil detection and recovery operations. This technical paper will provide an overview of the regulatory framework, basics of underwater oil spill response operations and an analysis of recent technological advances available to detect and recover oil at depth. Multi-beam sonar, real-time mass spectrometry, saturation diving systems, diver-operated recovery systems, and remotely operated vehicle systems will be discussed. Recent case studies will frame the presentation of advances in subsea oil detection and recovery equipment. Finally, conclusions and recommendations will be presented to further advance submerged oil detection and recovery efficiency and effectiveness.