Although oil barriers have been used for many years to contain slicked oil in open seas, the effect of waveson them has been rarely considered. In the present study, we investigated the response of rigid and flexible oil containment barriers in the presence of currents with and without waves. Two-dimensional experiments with both rigid and flexible oil containment barriers were carried out in a laboratory flume equipped with a pneumatic wave generator. The initiation of containment failure for various conditions were analyzed and compared.