Barge Disinfection Tarps or Barge Tarps are usually smaller than Plankton Tarps but are made of much heavier and stronger vinyl (usually) material. These tarps come in different sizes custom made for particular barges or feed storage floats, for example45’ x 95’.
These tarps are designed to entirely cover the hull of any floating structure, usually a feed or combination feed storage/accommodation barge. Once covered and with all edges secured above the waterline as much water as possible is pumped out from between the hull and the Barge Tarp so that the marine growth (Barnacles, mussels etc) on the actual hull are soon starved of fresh oxygenated seawater and the complete die off of all of the marine organisms attached to this hull should happen fairly quickly. Any possible hosts for harmful pathogens are in this way safely and organically eliminated and this barge can be transferred to another site without fear of contaminating the fish stocks at this new site with any pathogens that may have been present at the previous site, through what could possibly have been “hosts” living on the bottom of that barge .
These heavier tarps are usually washed on the ground using high pressure washers that scour the surface and blow off all fouling attached. These like the Plankton tarps are placed in our Disinfection Tank for their disinfecting hot water bath after the washing is complete and then they are stored and later dried prior to being repaired on our very large industrial sewing machine. Depending on the severity of the damage and the degree to which the customer would like the repairs to go, repairs to tarps can range from under 10 hours up to over 40 hrs. A Cursory Evaluation is done during the washing and again when the tarp is finally laid out for repairs on the machine. If excessive damage is noted at either time consideration for scrapping the tarp is usually discussed with the customer prior to continuing with any further repairs.
Upon completion of repairs for a Plankton Tarp, we will wrap and secure these tarps into an approximately 6” diameter tube along their entire length so it is ready to be hung around the net on the site in a way that is protected from the elements and also quickly deployable should the need arise.
Barge Tarps once repaired are simply bundled as small as possible for protection and ease of shipping and handling to get it back to the site. During the repair process for either type we will verify measurements and re-tag the tarps (if needed) for future identification.