[QUOTE=tugsailor;188336]Oily Water Seperators are not required on vessels under 300 GRT, so very few tugboats have them. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen one.
About half of the tugs I’ve been on in the last few years have an “ecology well” to catch the water running past the shaft packing before it gets into the bilge. On the other half, the water goes right into the bilge. It’s a constant battle to try to pump the oil off the top, or use diapers to collect it and put all that mess into 55 gallon drums tied down on the 01 level, and to pump the bilge water off the bottom without putting any oil overboard. A very high risk and imperfect system.
Why take this ridiculous and unnecessary risk? In a $10 million boat after a $5 million overhaul? An oil lubricated system of smooth running, quiet, fuel saving, oil lubricated shaft bearings and seals, for an extra $50,000, sounds like a lot better, safer, and ultimately cheaper system to me.[/QUOTE]
It’s not their licence or their sweat. They are always going to have a disconnect from the guy performing the daily operations.
Edit: Belt skimmers are great for removing oil from bilge wells. They can be found in Grainger. If you can’t win the battle to make a better system, you can at least reduce the amount of time crawling around with a bag of diapers.