Apparatus (1) for recovery of matter from a body of water, particularly for the disposal of contaminants such as oil from the surface of a body of water. The apparatus (1)may, however, have application to the recovery of other matter from a body of water, such as, for example, marine vegetation, including algae and other seaweeds, as well as garbage and other floating materials. The apparatus (1) comprises a boom assembly (10) for the capture, containment and diversion of the oil to a disposal zone at which it is collected and removed from the body of water. The boom assembly (10) comprises two buoyant booms (11, 12) each having a first end (15) and a second end (17). The two booms (11, 12) are interconnected at their respective first ends (15). More particularly, the first ends (15) of the two booms (11, 12) are each connected to a retrieval system (21). The second respective ends (17) are connected to tow lines (23) from a towing vessel (25) such as a tug boat. The two buoyant booms (11, 12) are angularly moveable with respect to each other about the respective first ends (15) between collapsed and extended conditions. In the extended condition, the two booms (11, 12) are disposed in angular relation to each other to define a containment zone (27) having an entry opening (29) defined between the second ends (17) of the two booms (11, 12). Each boom (11, 12) has a longitudinal extent and comprises a plurality of boom sections (31) flexibly connected one to another along the longitudinal extent of the boom. Each boom section (31) comprises a first buoyant portion (33), a reflector portion (35) supported on the first buoyant portion (33), and orientation means (37) for orienting the first buoyant portion (33) in the body of water for maintaining the reflector portion (35) in an operative condition relative to the water surface.Linvention porte sur un appareil (1) pour la récupération de matières à partir dun corps deau, en particulier pour la mise en dépôt de contami
