Patent ID: 9650752
Date: 2017-05-16
CPC Classifications: C02F,E02B,Y02A

Claim:
1. An apparatus for recovering spilled oil with a floating oil skimmer in water infested with floating ice or other debris, the water having a level, comprising: a fence having an upper rail and lower rail encircling an area to receive the oil skimmer; a plurality of buoyancy units to maintain the apparatus in water such that the level of the water is generally between the upper and lower rails of the fence; a lower submerged barrier structure attached to the lower rail of the fence to cover the bottom of the fence when the apparatus is deployed, the lower submerged barrier formed of generally truncated triangular sheets and configured such that the barrier structure moves chunks of ice or other debris out of the way as the apparatus is lowered into the water; and wherein the fence and barrier structure have openings or perforations to allow water to pass therethrough while minimizing intrusion of floating ice and other debris into the encircled area.