The fastest oil skimmer will be constructed in St.Petersburg

Almaz Marine Yards JSC will construct a modern vessel for the liquidation of oil spillage in the waters near St.Petersburg. The project will cost more than $1 million. The financing will be provided by the target budgetary ecological fund of St.Petersburg. The new vessel will have a speed of over 10 knots; this is three times faster than the speed of the oil skimmers operating in the St.Petersburg water area now. The vessel will transport and arrange slick bars, intake dirty water,refuse ships, and liquidate water pollution. The vessel is to be launched in August’2002. A special sprayer of oil-slick sorbent will be fixed on the vessel.

The ecology and nature management committee informs that emergency situations are frequent on the Neva river. The largest oil spill occurred in October of 1999, and the consequences were rather severe. Oil that spills outside the administrative boundaries of St.Petersburg reaches the city water area rather quickly because of the high current velocity. Recent training of the municipal emergency services revealed the necessity of construction of such an oil skimmer.

Marina Mayakova PRAVDA.Ru St.Petersburg

Translated by Maria Gousseva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/01/04/35352.html