Balaena was invited to participate in drill exercise activities with The National Spill Control School in Corpus Christi, TX. Balaena was asked to host a class for the Navy and demonstrated it’s operational versatility and handling in strong stable and gusty winds, up to 20 knots. These strong winds did not interrupt the ability to collect mock oil. The choice of product chosen to demonstrate its abilities was Peat Moss. Peat Moss is a brown fibrous material harvested from peat bogs and while it lacks the surface tension of oil it works really well, when demonstrating a floating material able to be collected as a safe and organic material.

Balaena was used with boom in a variety of situations, including J-Boom configuration, U-Boom configuration, V-Boom configuration. The Balaena vessel was also able to demonstrate it’s independent capability, which many refer to as a “water Roomba” for oil spill clean-up. This illustration speaks to the Balaena vessels ability to self maneuver between patches of oil, while never stopping the collection process. Balaena’s vessel ability to process endless amounts of water without disrupting the collection process makes it the only oil spill recovery vessel of it’s class.