Spilled oil retriever and anti-water pollution water craft

A water craft capable of retrieving oil or chemicals lighter than and floating on the water surface, said craft comprising, in combination:

• flat sidewalls terminating at their forward ends in a pointed bow;
• said bow being recessed at its forward and upper portion to define a scoop lying beneath the water craft line, said scoop including a horizontal upper wall;
• a pair of hollow gates, each of said gates conforming to the bow scoop and consistuting sidewall extensions of said water craft at said bow and having vertical forward and rear edges, the rear edges being hinged to the sides of said water craft hull for rotation about vertical axes and movable between closed and open positions wherein the forward vertical edges are closed to form the water craft pointed bow and are open so as to extend outwardly to the plane of the hull sidewalls to cause oil and water to converge onto the hoizontal surface of the scoop;
• means mounted on the hull and operatively coupled to the gates for opening and closing said gates;
• a trough located amidship of the water craft and extending through its entire length including a forward, oblique portion which is in communication with the horizontal surface of said scoop and which extends upwardly and terminates above the water line such that a portion of said trough lies above the water line at the rear of said gates;
• an oil and water separating tank within said hull;
• an opening formed within the side of said trough above the water craft water line and open to said oil and water separating tank;
• an oil storage tank within said hull and adjacent said oil and water separating tank, said oil and water separating tank being provided with an oil overflow outlet at an upper portion leading to said oil storage tank;
• and a submerged water outlet at a lower portion of said oil and water separating tank and beneath the water line of said water craft and being open to the water exterior of said water craft for permitting separated water flow out of said water craft;
• and
• baffle means installed on the water craft and astride said trough to block water and oil flow and detour that flow through said opening within the side of said trough into said oil and water separating tank.