The Elastec Omni Catamaran and Inlander were featured in the June 2017 issue of Marine News (PDF). The Omni Catamaran is a versatile waterway maintenance vehicle that helps keep protected waterways and harbors clean of floating trash and debris. The Inlander is a new river utility boat that bridges the gap between smaller utility boats and larger aluminum landing craft. Multiple Inlanders can be connected to form a work barge.
The following is an excerpt from the Omni Catamaran story… If an oil spill happens on water, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA90) has very clear rules on who is responsible for paying for cleanup costs. Most oil spills can be traced to the spiller – a pipeline owner, oil tanker, shipper, railroad or trucking company. “Pointing a finger” at the alleged party may be why this type of pollution is referred to as “point source.” If the oil spill is ruled an accident and the polluter is not legally responsible, funds from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) may be used to cover the cleanup cost. […..PDF of the Full Article]
The following is an excerpt from the Inlander story… The Elastec Inlander river utility boat (RUB) is a unique concept. But, Elastec already manufactures many other response and utility craft for this market. What prompted the internal effort to create such a craft was that while on oil spill deployments with customers, Elastec personnel began to notice quite a few response organizations using “reconfigured” recreational watercraft (fishing boats) to perform tasks. Those boats, according to Elastec, were not well suited to the tasks they were doing, both in terms of safety and operational utility. In particular, low freeboard, thin hulls, and working around the original design of the boats caused may problems with deployments. In response, Elastec created a design that would be both operationally and economically attractive to oil spill responders, municipalities, marinas and waterway maintenance service contractors. […..PDF of the Full Article]