The 5 port zones no traditional equipment reaches
These are not exotic zones. They are the corners of any port, and they are what generates the complaints.
A skimmer needs draught and room to manoeuvre. An absorbent needs a flat, accessible surface to be deployed. Neither is built for the irregular, the narrow or the vertical. And that is exactly where wind and current concentrate the pollution.
1. Breakwaters and rock formations
Irregular surface, impossible to cover with an absorbent pad without leaving gaps. The film clings to the rock and stays.
2. Dock and pontoon corners
Tight angles where neither the skimmer fits nor the wind clears the slick. Usually the source of most odour complaints.
3. Gaps between piles
Insufficient room to manoeuvre any mechanical equipment. The slick gets trapped between structures.
4. Structures with complex geometries
Floating pontoons, ramps, non-standard moorings. Each would need a different piece of equipment if treated mechanically.
5. Confined spaces
Closed or restricted-access zones where it is not even safe to operate machinery.
Why bioremediation does reach them
It is applied as a liquid, by irrigation. It needs no draught, no manoeuvring room, no regular surface: it reaches wherever the water reaches, including the dock wall itself.
Want the full technical dossier?
System details, reports from the CSIC and the University of Vigo, and the Spanish Merchant Marine approval.
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