Patent ID: 7452462

Claim:
Vessel for collecting on board the vessel waste that is close to and/or on a surface of a body of water or a waterway, said vessel comprising a floating liquid waste holding tank, a water flow channel arranged in said vessel between a water inlet and a water outlet of the vessel, and a turbine for creating a water flow in the water flow channel, the water flow channel being downstream from said inlet and upstream from an inlet of the tank such that liquid including liquid waste can flow from the inlet into the tank, the holding tank including: (a) an inlet adapted to be connected to the inlet of the water flow channel, the holding tank inlet being formed by an upper edge of said tank and adapted to be located close to the surface of the water, and (b) an outlet adapted to be connected to the outlet of said channel, the holding tank outlet being formed by an orifice in a bottom of said tank and adapted to be obstructed by a closure in response to said tank being full of liquid waste; the closure comprising a float having at least one surface for covering the orifice which forms the outlet of the tank, the float having a density greater than that of the liquid waste and lower than that of the water.