The skimmers did not work, much of the oil sank and we were very lucky with the weather.
    Why is there this unholy alliance among the players? As usual, money has a lot to do with it. The MSRC and other clean-up contractors are paid for their equipment and personnel on a time and materials basis by insurance companies. Therefore, the longer the clean-up takes, the more money they make. Insurance companies on their part, have limited liability and their management doesn't care how much oil is recovered as long as premiums are paid up. Besides, when the limited liability kicks in, there is always the tax payer The US Coast Guard has to justify its existence to the US Congress every year and it would not help their requests for increased budgets if they acknowledged the problem. And, in the case of Galveston, as in other cities, public officials always have the next election to worry about.     Given these factors, if a company has a new and more effective technology that can improve preparedness and recover spills more efficiently, its chances of successfully introducing that technology are slim indeed. Why should contractors spend money on better equipment if they are not held accountable? We believe that contractors would be more amenable to effective clean up technologies if they were paid for each barrel of oil that was recovered while at the same time it would force manufacturers of equipment to come up with better solutions.
    Is there technology out there right now? The answer, according to one of the industry's experts is a resounding "Yes!" Danny McKeown, former Special Adviser to the Saudi Government for the Gulf War clean-up effort for the largest oil spill in history and most recently manager of Oil Spill Services at Sembawang in Singapore is a firm believer in a revolutionary new recovery system - the Oil Response Cleaning Apparatus (ORCA) which can recover a wide range of oil types, tarballs, and debris and yet is virtually impossible to clog.
    The ORCA represents a totally different approach to oil recovery. While it can be loosely called a "skimmer" the term belies the machine's true

capabilities. The ORCA is a an extremely flexible piece of equipment that is portable, powerful, self-contained with its own power pack and crane, safe to operate in high hydrocarbon atmospheres, easy to set up and operate and can be teamed with any workboat in the vicinity.
    In addition, the ORCA is virtually impossible to clog and the good news for profit-minded companies is that it does tank cleaning (vessel and land-based) and other cleanup work around harbours, in lakes and rivers and shipyards instead of sitting in a warehouse waiting for the next spill. The National Iranian tanker Company has used their ORCA for de-sludging their tankers and as part of their standby equipment for oil spill response. Another far sighted company to have purchased the ORCA is Sembawang Maritime's Singapore Oil Spill Response Centre Pte Ltd.
    In spill response, the ORCA can be helicoptered to the spilling vessel and be recovering spilled oil into ballast tanks before the booms are deployed. In less than twenty minutes, two people can set up the machine, lower the hose plus the floatation device to the surface of the water and start recovering 500-1,500 barrels per hour depending upon viscosity of the oil. These recovery rates are proven at vertical heights of 120 feet, which easily meets the requirements of the largest ULCCs. And, for those readers who are asking how much water this vacuum system recovers with the oil, Danny McKeown says the answer is less than 5%. The equipment has been tested by ABS (American Bureau of Shipping) and carries 'Lloyd's Type Approval' Certification.
    The ORCA's resistance to clogging is also a major advantage. Tarballs, dead birds, debris and even fishing nets can be sucked directly into the receiving tank via its "Universal Transfer Hookup" without passing through any machinery.
    If beaches are threatened or spoiled, the ORCA can be truck-mounted and used with ordinary 20 foot containers or tank trucks to recover oil and debris from the shoreline as well. In Japan, for example, the ORCA would have greatly improved the recovery effort from the beaches.
     An official of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Emergency Response Division recently told us that there is a shift away from mechanical recovery devices and a return to chemical solutions because of the former's ineffectiveness. This would represent a backward turn of the clock, even if some of the new chemicals are less damaging than they used to be.
    The problems described here recur on a global basis. Oil spills are bad for everybody. There are no winners and the best result is a quick clean up with the least damage possible. It is time for the industry to take the lead and include machines like the ORCA in their arsenals of spill recovery equipment,otherwise regulators or an educated public will force the industry to take drastic measures. It is up to the leaders in the industry to take responsibility for efficient clean-up efforts before the public and regulators do it for them in ways that will probably be draconian and very costly.