Field Tests of Six Offshore Oil Containment Booms. Part I.

This report describes the test procedures and equipment used in testing six different oil containment booms in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil was not used. Each boom was evaluated for its seakeeping and logistic requirements for deployment and retrieval. Each boom was moored in a U shape, or catenary, configuration. This was done by establishing two sets of mooring buoys on opposite sides of the Navy platform, Stage I, off Panama City, Florida. Test were conducted from 28 March through 28 April 1977. The booms tested were obtained on loan from the various manufacturers, their representatives, or other sources. An attempt was made to obtain booms suitable for open water use that employ different means of maintaining flotation and of carrying tension. Seakeeping data was obtained through documentation with a videotape system developed by the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center. The videotapes were analyzed, and the data are presented in Part 2 of this report.