This unique German naval vessel is designed to recover spilled oil. The Bottsand-class ships, of which there are two, splits in order to scoop-contaminated water into its 790 cubic meter recovery tank:
The German Navy's Bottsand class oil recovery ship is built for handling seawater pollution control. The ship, with its twin hull, opens up by 65-degrees and captures seawater into a 790 cubic meter tank. There the vessel separates the oil from the water, processing 140 cubic meters of water every hour.
The ship first entered service during the 80's and are used to contain spills from German ships in the area.
Link via DVICE | Photo: gCaptain
Because the problem is so much larger than a ship like this could even make a dent in.
"Because the problem is so much larger than a ship like this could even make a dent in."
...so we shouldn't try.