The Ship That Eats Oil Spills

The Bottsand class oil recovery ship cruises just like any other vessel- until it reaches an oil spill.

The twin hull ships feature a bow which can be opened by 65 degrees. This creates an area of more than 40 m² to collect oil-polluted seawater. The water is pumped into the ship's 790 m³ tank, where it will be cleaned and the oil separated. Per hour one ship can clean up to 140 m³ of ocean surface polluted with a 2 mm oil slick.

The two ships in the class entered service in 1984 and 1987. The ships are auxiliary ships of the German Navy.