Reliable and innovative oil recovery solutions

Vikoma is renowned for providing good quality products that can be relied on to work when needed. First class support services are also available from maintenance to commissioning and training

Since a management buy-out (MBO) in 2015, the company has been investing heavily in development to ensure products remain market leaders and has formed a number of strategic partnerships with others in the industry to strengthen its offering to customers. Several new products have been launched which are already active in the market. The MBO was backed by a London based UK Investor (Agathos). Agathos is the perfect fit for our management team. We are both committed to UK manufacture and good quality products we can be proud of.

Equipment for ports and harbours

The diagram shows the range of equipment needed in the event of an oil spill. Equipment is needed to contain, recover and store the spilled oil. Speed of response is very serious consideration as the longer the delay in responding, the bigger the clean-up cost, so quick and reliable equipment is a must.

Vikoma Oil containment booms are manufactured from strong flexible and durable Neoprene. Neoprene is lightweight for good buoyancy, is good in extreme weather and can be steam cleaned ready for use the next time. An alternative is polyurethane which is a strong and flexible cost effective solution for many applications within ports and harbours.

Following oil containment, a skimmer is used to collect the oil. Vikoma offers a range of skimmers using brushes, discs or a weir for recovery. The chosen type depends on the size of the spill and viscosity of the oil to be recovered. The Komara skimmers are renowned worldwide for their high recovery capabilities with an extremely efficient 98% oil content recovery. Low water content and high oil content is really important. By maximising recovery efficiency you keep storage requirements and costs down.

Cost effective solutions

Vikoma is committed to listening to wishes and needs of customers and in response to feedback from ports and harbours has developed VikoSeal, a new boom for use in fuel transfer operations. VikoSeal is an innovative design which provides a quick, cost effective and easy to use alternative to surrounding an entire ship with containment boom. It is installed between a ships’ fenders.

The VikoSeal is highly effective and can be used to contain oil spilled in ship to ship fuel transfers operations or between ship and dockside/pier.

VikoSeal should be used in pairs to ensure maximum containment of oil. A paired formation will allow one to be positioned adjacent to the ships forward fender and one positioned to the ships aft fender. Available in two sizes, the VikoSeal boom resembles an 'H' shape to seal against ship hulls or hull to dockside

Vikoma and Koseq join forces

Vikoma recently announced a new working partnership with Dutch based equipment provider Koseq.

This new partnership combines the many years of experience held by both Vikoma and Koseq in equipment supply to the oil spill industry.

The collaboration strengthens the range of solutions that Vikoma offers, which now includes the ViKoseq rigid sweep arm range.

This joining of forces will better serve the customer base by offering a wider more diverse selection of response equipment whilst upholding the Vikoma values of innovation, quality and reliability.

The partnership is a perfect fit as both companies have many years of experience and a proven track record of providing high quality oil spill solutions.

Koseq is known worldwide for the creation of sweeping arms. Since 1968 when it made its first developments in dynamic oil recovery in The Netherlands, Kosek has been leading the market of rigid sweeping arm systems. Like Vikoma, innovation, design and quality manufacture are key to its success.

We are excited about this new working relationship and are already working closely with Koseq on a number of projects. We see significant benefits to our customers from having a single source, one-stop-shop solution for their oil spill requirements. The teams at Vikoma and Koseq share common values and are committed to working together to supply quality solutions.

Green strategy

Vikoma’s products are built to last. The first Hi Sprint Boom containment system was supplied in 1992 and is still being used in the USA. This is a testament to the quality of the products, but not only is this important from a return on investment or value for money perspective, it is really important to reduce our environmental foot print. Vikoma systems can be used many times.

The oil recovered can be re-used and the boom and skimmers can also be used again, time after time. This is a contrast to an alternative philosophy adopted by some to use cheap, disposable boom. While the initial cost is lower, the disposal cost can be much higher financially and the impact on the environmental footprint can be very high. If boom are free of oil when disposed of then they may end up in landfill, however oil contaminated booms is expensive to dispose of.

Vikoma’s skimmers have a high oil content in the recovery of 98% oil which means the minimum volume of recovered oil is stored and transported, so not just an effective environmental clean-up solution, but also a minimum impact of fuel usage transporting as well as minimising the power used to refine or reprocess.

Vikoma is determined to keep focused on its green credentials. The VikoSeal is testament to this. Not only does it prevent oil spills spreading, it is made from a lot less material than conventional boom, so a lower environmental footprint in terms of materials consumed as well as fuel during transportation.

As part of its development strategy, Vikoma adopted a full cradle to grave design philosophy.

Flood protection

Vikoma will be celebrating it’s 50-year anniversary in 2017.

It was formed by BP following the SS Torrey Canyon oil spill, the UK’s largest ever spill, when 32 million gallons of oil spilled off the coast of Cornwall. Vikoma has been innovating since then with its equipment being used in many major spills.

Recognising the challenge being faced worldwide with rising sea levels and restrictions on dredging, Vikoma now has an award-winning flood barrier suited to ports and harbours. Vikoma’s flood barrier, Flood Guardian is available in a range of sizes and can be used as a passive barrier for flood deflection and protection against tidal surge.

Like oil containment booms, the barriers are made from strong, flexible neoprene and sections can be joined together to form required lengths. These temporary flood barriers can be installed between slipways or adjacent to an asset or river bank. The barriers are water filled for stability and offer a time saving, easy, reusable alternative to sandbags.

Case study 1: New port facility in Vietnam

While statistically large oil spills from tankers are in decline due to increased safety procedures and advancing technology, there has been a marked increase in smaller oil spills (>7m³) from marine operations, such as ports and terminals. This increase in smaller oil spills is often due to increased marine traffic and equipment failure and or human error during operations.

Vikoma was approached to recommend and supply a Tier one oil spill response package for a new port facility in Vietnam. The new port includes a terminal operation for receiving oil as well as bunkering operations. Vikoma was asked to look at the risks associated with the various operations and supply a complete package of equipment to provide effective containment, recovery and storage in the event of an accidental oil spill.

The package of equipment supplied was for use in the port confines and included 500m of oil boom, a multi head skimming system able to recovery both light and heavy oils, temporary storage tanks for holding the recovered oil and a range of oil spill absorbents for small spill clean-up.

Vikoma further supported the delivery of the Tier one package with training to the port team for the operation and maintenance of the equipment.

The equipment and training package now ensure that the port meets with its legislative commitments to meet OPRC legislation.

Case study 2: Ship to shore sealing system for Far East

The end user was a terminal on an island off Singapore with unusually high tides, high currents with berthing and refuelling operations from piers.

Pier legs can be a challenge for conventional oil spill containment solutions however Vikoma offered a unique, cost effective solution for sealing between the ship and pier legs.

A system was designed combining a fixed boom system adjacent to the pier legs which moves with the rise and fall of the tide. The system incorporates VikoSeal, a highly effective boom system for the containment of oil spilt during oil or fuel transfer operations. A pair of VikoSeals were provided for maximum containment of oil allowing one to be positioned adjacent to the ships forward fender and one positioned to the ships aft fender.

In addition to the Pier sealing system, Vikoma provided Hi Sprint, it’s single point inflation boom containment system for containment of spills around the terminal. Hi Sprint was selected as it is easy and quick to inflate from a single point and time is of the essence in the event of a spill. Vikospray, a spray system for dispersing spills and Komara skimming systems were also provided.

A full service was provided which included installation, commissioning and training of end users.