Foreword ABS has developed this Guide for Vessels with Oil Recovery Capabilities@ with the aim of promoting the safety of vessels and personnel by providing specific requirements for tugboats@ barges@ and other vessels which are intended for service in the event of oil spills and are equipped for the storage of recovered oil floating on the sea. Such units may not be equipped with permanent means for recovering spilled oil floating on the sea and typically do not have fixed piping systems for the transfer of recovered oil overboard. Oil is recovered from the sea by portable or fixed equipment such as oil skimmers and is transferred to these vessels by floating suction pumps operating on the sea surface. Recovered oil is subsequently transferred to shore reception facilities or other vessels by portable pumps.