Booms and skimmers work like complex barriers and filters. Booms define a physical boundary to encapsulate a polluted area. Skimmers process the area by taking in great quantities of polluted sea water and separating the pollutants.
In order to properly deploy booms and skimmers to recover oil, the movements and activities of vessels must be controlled as to direct them to the thickest areas of oil. Doing so effectively requires aircraft equipped with air-to-sea communications. Overall, containment and recovery operations at sea require extensive logistical support, which should not be underestimated.
Further limitations are brought about by poor weather and rough seas.