Latest News

Komara Omni excels in testing with low sulphur fuel oils under IMAROS program

We are very excited by the results our new Komara Omni skimmer has achieved during tests under the IMAROS program at Horten in Norway with Low, Very Low and Ultra Low Sulphur Fuel Oils (LSFO/VLSFO/ULSFO).  These are newer types of fuel introduced into marine fuels used in shipping in recent years and present significant challenges when spilled into the sea.  

Vikoma was one of 3 manufacturers selected for the IMAROS  2 project to test mechanical recovery (skimmers) all three types of low sulphur fuel oil emulsions (LSFO, VLSFO & ULSFO) at Horton in Norway.

The concept was to utilise principals of an existing skimmer and to then develop the skimmer to effectively recover these oils.  The project consisted of 2 separate test trials each over several days with each of the different types of Low Sulphur Fuel Oil emulsions (LSFO, VLSFO & ULSFO) 

The 1st set of testing was to trial existing skimmer technology on the recovery of these oil emulsions. This was on the back of IMAROS 1 where traditional skimmers were found to be ineffective for the recovery of these challenging vessel fuels.

The 1st set of testing gave the Vikoma team invaluable knowledge on the characteristics of all three types of the oils (LSFO, VLSFO & ULSFO) and the challenges with recovery them.

Between the 1st and 2nd set of testing the Vikoma development team where able to take lessons learned from the initial testing and apply these in developing a skimmer in our world renowned Komara range.

The 2nd set of testing took place at Horton in Norway in May, and we are very pleased to announce that the Vikoma Komara Omni Skimmer surpassed expectations and was able to effectively recover the required amount of all 3 types of oil emulsion (LSFO, VLSFO & ULSFO) used in the IMAROS 2 trials within set times and with low free water pick up.

We also had the opportunity to test on a 4th ULSFO and again recovered this efficiently.

This new skimmer will be known as Komara Omni (Omni = All / in all ways).  The Komara Omni skimmer demonstrated efficient recovery of these newer low sulphur fuel oil emulsions and is also well suited to recovery of light to heavy traditional oils too.  The Komara Omni provides versatility which is key to an effective oil spill response package.

The Komara Omni continues Vikoma’s core values of quality, innovation and reliability.

We will be launching Komara Omni in the coming months so watch this space.

For further information please contact   

December 2024 Newsletter - Download Now!

Download Our December 2024 Newsletter Below!

Read about the Komara Midi Skimmer, plastic pellets pollution recovery, and how Vikoma are supporting and inspiring students in our community...

Download Here

Vikoma launches new Komara Midi Skimmer with onboard pump

Our development team have been busy and we are proud to introduce our Komara Midi 2 Duplex skimmer which comes complete with a built in on board pump.  This will become a favourite for operators as it is quick and easy to deploy … no need to for a separate pump and less hoses.  Maintenance is easy too. 

By integrating the pump the unit has a smaller footprint than a skimmer with separate pump, so less vessel deck space needed and cheaper /easier to transport.

With interchangeable disc and brush modules giving flexibility to suit the oil viscosity and a recovery rate of up to 15m³/hour, Komara Midi 2 Duplex OBP will become the skimmer of choice for many.

The skimmer has been fully tested and gives superior performance as is expected from our world class Komara skimmer range.

Come and see us at IOSC next week and be the first to see our new skimmer.

Click here for more details

Made in the UK Sold to the World 2024 Awards

We are delighted to announce that Vikoma has been selected as a “Highly Commended” business for the 2024 Made in the UK, Sold to the World Awards for Manufacturing, Advanced Manufacturing & Construction category by the Department for Business and Trade.
This recognises the world class product we design and manufacture from our UK factory on the Isle of Wight and have been exporting to all parts of the world for over 50 years.

Green Impact Platinum Award as solar energy goes live

Karen Lucas (Managing Director) and Karen Whitehead were delighted to accept Green Impact’s 2023 Platinum award recognising efforts to make a positive difference to the way of working and impact on our environment and sustainability.  The scheme is delivered by SOS (Students Organising Sustainability).

Vikoma was also given a special award for environmental improvement recognising the improvements and energy reductions resulting from upgrading equipment and processes in the factory. 

Vikoma has got more people in its team involved in Green Impact actions which has led to more actions being completed and improvements being seen than in previous years when Gold Awards have been received. 

The Green Impact scheme has widened its scope and as well as providing students in the UK with work experience and helping UK organisations become more sustainable, it is now involving overseas organisations and students too.

The award was timely and coincided with Vikoma’s new solar panels going live and starting to generate electricity.  Initial results have been impressive and even on a grey day last week, we generated more energy than we used over a large part of the day. 

Vikoma February 2024 Newsletter

Vikoma are pleased to announce the release of our February 2024 newsletter.

Click here to download the newsletter.

Vikoma July 2023 Newsletter

Vikoma are pleased to announce the release of our July 2023 newsletter.

Click here to download the newsletter.

Vikoma wins Environment & Sustainability Award 2023

Vikoma is absolutely delighted to win the Environment and Sustainability award at the IW Chamber of Awards. It recognises not only the environmental products manufactured but also the sustained commitment to continual improvement to operate in a sustainable way and reduce the carbon footprint. 

Read More

Vikoma wins third successive gold award with the NUS green impact scheme for 2022

Vikoma are delighted to have our third successive gold award with the NUS green impact scheme for 2022. Not only has Vikoma made positive steps to protect our environment, but the program engaged 880 students nationally giving them experience as auditors and opportunity to improve sustainability in their organisations as well as valuable work experience. This year 428 organisations took part including hospitals, businesses and local authorities with 4382 members of staff being actively involved.
Thank you to everyone at Vikoma for making this happen again.

Vikoma December 2022 Newsletter

Vikoma are pleased to announce the release of our December 2022 newsletter.

Click here to download the newsletter.

Vikoma launches it's paravane for use deploying booms

Vikoma’s paravane is a powerful and versatile tool with a unique vane profile to maximise efficiency.  In a traditional open water boom deployment it replaces the tow boat, enabling a single vessel to deploy a boom system.

There are other paravanes on the market, however Vikoma’s has a unique feature as it is a modular system allowing easy conversion between it’s Midi and Maxi versions (medium and large).  This flexibility is a useful feature for buyers by keeping the investment cost down, with one piece of equipment being easily convertible to suit the size of boom being used, rather than buying two separate sizes of paravane.

As well as saving money, this is an environmentally friendly solution keeping the carbon footprint down as less materials are used.

Vikoma offer three models; Paravane Maxi, Paravane Midi and Paravane Mini. 

Paravane Maxi has a twin vane arrangement and is ideally suited to medium to large boom systems and Fasflo Maxi in open water.  Paravane Midi has a single vane arrangement and is suited to small to medium boom systems and Fasflo Mini in rivers and sheltered waters.   

In a river deployment, Paravane Mini can be used alongside personnel to manually deploy a boom system without the need for a boat.  This functionality minimises personnel and reduces costs making it ideally suited to training exercises as well as oil spill response.

For more information please contact us or visit our paravane webpage.

Contact Us

Paravane Webpage

Vikoma wins Chamber of Commerce Award 2022

We are very proud to be awarded Manufacture and Export business of the year at the Isle of Wight Chamber of Commerce Awards.  Although the last couple of years haven’t been easy for any international business with lockdowns and travel restrictions, we’ve come out stronger.  We’ve invested in new factory equipment which increases our productivity as well as reducing our carbon footprint.  We’ve also won business from new countries we haven’t worked with before.  Hard work by the entire team and adapting to different ways of working has been key to our success.

For more information please contact us.

Contact Us