METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE DISCHARGE OF CONTAMINANTS FROM SHIPS

摘要

Abstract of the DisclosureA system is provided for monitoring fluid dis-charged from ships and for determining the amount of con-taminants, such as oil, in the fluid. The discharge fromthe ship is continuously monitored by a meter which willindicate the oil content of the discharge in, for example,parts per million. The indicated value may be charted forrecord purposes. The total volume of discharge from theship and the speed of the ship may also be measured. Thethree values obtained by the foregoing measurements areprocessed in computing mechanism and a value is obtainedfor the amount of contaminants being discharged for eachunit distance travelled by the ship. When the afore-mentioned value reaches a predetermined amount, the dis-charge from the ship is interrupted, or reduced, so thatat no time do the amount of contaminants discharged fromthe ship exceed a predetermined allowable limit with re-spect to the speed of travel of the ship. The system isalso applicable for controlling the discharge from a shipto limit the concentration of oil in the discharge with-out regard for the speed of the ship or the total volumeof the discharge.