Rubber barges for oil spill containment

The Dracone barge is a misnomer since it looks nothing like the barges populating canals such as those in Amsterdam. In fact, a Dracone barge looks more like a beached whale on land, and at sea, like a giant sea monster.

‘It was called a barge for legislative and classification reasons’, said Mike Saunders, business development manager for Trelleborg Dunlop GRG, which manufactures Dracone barges on demand for coast guard authorities. Dunlop GRG (General Rubber Goods) was once part of the Dunlop Group and is based in Manchester UK. Trelleborg acquired Dunlop GRG in 2005.

A Dracone barge is basically a vessel for transporting any kind of liquid, from jet fuel to crude oil, from point A to point B without the need for the infrastructure of a tanker. A tugboat usually drags a Dracone barge through the water. It floats because of large buoyancy panels on either end, but also because many of the liquids that it transports are lighter than water.

When an oil spill occurs, the first thing to do is to contain the oil with booms. Skimmers then set to work pushing the oil, water and other debris into a funnel where it all gets pumped into a Dracone barge for disposal on land.

The largest Dracone barge can accommodate more than 935m3 of liquid, is 91.5m long, 4.23m in diameter, and weighs 6.5 tons empty. It can, however, fold up into the size of a medium van. Dracone barges are made from woven nylon coated with synthetic rubber polymers for high abrasion resistance. Their lifespan is about 25 years and they are reusable.

According to Saunders, Dracone barges are a niche product, yet there is a major growth market for them in the cruise ship industry. ‘Cruise ships are getting larger and larger and are having a harder time entering ports, but they still have to empty their bilge, waste and sewage water while anchored offshore, he said. ‘That is where a Dracone barge can come in handy.’

While Dracone barges are not the first items to capture world headlines during an oil spill, they are instrumental in mopping up the mess. Some famous disasters in which Dracone barges have been used include the Exxon Valdez spill and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005. After the hurricane, clean up crews used Dracone barges to empty the fuel tanks of capsized boats and ships. Key customers include the American, Indian and Australian Coast Guards, and the Marine Spill Response Corporation.