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In 1994,
the Petronas Melaka Refinery realized that its present stockpile
of oil spill response equipment was insufficient to meet with its
stringent requirements for a rapid response on site, in case of
an oil spill during off-loading operations at the two large ocean
berths; located two kilometers from the shore. |
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In
December 1996, after several rounds of presentations, negotiations
and a subsequent tender, THE MARINER GROUP was
awarded the contract for the design, delivery and installation of
a comprehensive package of oil boom systems, to be installed on
site. |
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It was
agreed that each ocean berth should have two
Kepner ReelPak self-inflating/self-compacting
oil boom systems of 400 m length each, with 18" float
and 23" skirt. Each system would be installed at the outermost breasting
dolphins facing the bow and the stern of the vessel respectively,
enabling full encircling of the vessel in case of a spill. Each
system would be fully self-contained, with a diesel-driven power
unit, and a powered spooling assembly. |
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In addition,
it was agreed that each ocean berth should have a 200m long oil
boom permanently installed, floating below the concrete platform.
This boom would provide an instant barrier against any spill on
the shore-side of the vessel, and enable full encircling by connecting
it with the other booms. A Kepner extra heavy duty foam-filled oil
boom was chosen for this purpose, with 12" float and 24" skirt.
It was agreed that the boom should be kept in position by means
of nylon ropes, attached to stainless steel straps to be installed
on the concrete pillars under the platform. It was also agreed that
the boom ends should be connected to Kepner TideSlide connectors/adaptors
sliding freely with waves and tides, on I-beams installed on the
outside of the breasting dolphins. |
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The total
package was therefore made
up of 4 x 400m Kepner ReelPak booms, and 2 x 200m
Kepner foam-filled booms. All equipment was successfully installed
during July and August 1997, and theoretical and practical training
of more than 60 Petronas staff was conducted. |
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During
a final test run on 20 August 1997, one 400m long Kepner ReelPak
oil boom system was successfully deployed in a complete J-configuration
in 12 minutes only, and by one operator only. The same boom length
was later successfully recovered back on the reel in 25 minutes
only, and by the same one operator only. |
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This
system is expected to set all new standards for other oil spill
contingencies in the region; not only for oil companies, but also
for other jetties and terminals. |
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