TheYachtMarket is proud to unveil details of its Ocean Saviour project, a world-first, self-powering 70m tri-deck clean-up vessel, purposefully engineered to locate, retrieve and recycle plastic from the ocean to preserve one of our most valuable assets for future generations.
Central to its design are Manta Collector Array collection systems at the side and front of the vessel which will deploy and draw in plastics. The plastics will then be fed into an onboard conveyor, chopped finely, milled and processed through an onboard plasma gasification facility which will destroy it completely with minimal atmospheric pollution. The product of this pioneering process will then be used to fuel the vessel, making it self-powering.
This compact waste destruction process was first implemented for marine use onboard the USS Gerald R. Ford Aircraft Carrier, by advanced plasma processing company, PyroGenesis. The US Navy specified the system for the ship in order to have a highly compact, sailor-friendly means of destroying waste out at sea, as an aircraft carrier can be out for many months without coming to port. The team behind Ocean Saviour is currently investigating several potential partners in relation to the provision of plasma technology.
This pioneering project and brainchild of TheYachtMarket.com founders, Richard W. Roberts and Simon White, works in conjunction with several highly regarded organisations and notable figures from across the global marine industry, including designer, Ricky Smith, naval architects Dr. Andrew Baglin and Stuart Friezer, David Jones from Just One Ocean, Dr. Jan Feiwald from Reef Check Foundation, Rory Sinclair from Big Blue Ocean Cleanup and record-breaking yachting legends, Dee Caffari MBE and Mike Golding OBE.
The concept designs were unveiled today during TheYachtMarket’s official stand launch at TheYachtMarket.com Southampton Boat Show. Designers collaborating with Ocean Saviour have recommended a large-scale catamaran as the most economical and stable option on the water.
The open plan lower deck will be one of the main working areas of the vessel and has been specially designed to allow ventilation with hinged storm shutters which offer protection against the weather. This entire deck is dedicated to plastic removal and industrial scale recycling. Mid-deck is home to two 12m containers which will offer research laboratory facilities or VIP accommodation options and bulk storage area, aft of the crew quarters. While the curved front windows are reflective of a superyacht in its design, the purpose is far more utilitarian as it will lessen the impact of rogue waves, green water and windage and offer maximum visibility for the crew. The wheelhouse is located on the third deck which will also house the main crew areas and helipad.
The design of this vessel will also allow it to be chartered by relief rescue organisations when disasters strike as it is fuel efficient, fast and stable.
Richard W. Roberts, CEO and co-founder of TheYachtMarket, commented: “I’m absolutely thrilled to unveil our vision for the Ocean Saviour concept today, an initiative that I am extremely passionate about. This is very much phase one of the project and I look forward to working closely with our partners on its development.
“Our oceans are a vital resource and it is essential we all do what we can to preserve them for future generations. I’m especially pleased to work with such a talented group of individuals to help make this a reality. It’s staggering to think that there is currently over five trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean which is having a huge detrimental impact on our ecosystem and the ocean’s biodiversity. It’s essential that we remove plastic before it breaks down into microplastics and, through Ocean Saviour, we aim to help eradicate the ocean of this problem.”
Ricky Smith, Designer, commented: “Ocean Saviour proposes an environmental revolution whereby we, as a community, undertake the immense and urgent task of physically collecting the plastics from the oceans and waterways. The Ocean Saviour project is vast and will require input on many levels. This is a crusade for the liberation of our oceans from the waste created by both our brilliant technology and our disregard of the oceans.”
Dr. Andrew Baglin of Multiphase Design, commented: “I’m delighted to be working alongside Richard, Simon and the team on this project. There are several variables when calculating the amount of plastic that can be removed from the water per day, including distance to ports, the operating area of the vessel and the size of the collector array that is installed, all of which are under careful development. We produce approximately 300 million tonnes of plastic each year, five times what we produced 50 years ago, and an estimated 8 million tonnes of this ends up in our oceans every year. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch contains an estimated 80,000 tonnes of plastic. A single Ocean Saviour vessel aims to clear five tonnes of plastic per day, that’s nearly two kilotonnes per year. This would mean that one Ocean Saviour vessel would take 40 years to clean up the Pacific gyre using plasma technology, which can therefore be scaled if there was more than one vessel in operation.”
Dr. Jan Feiwald, Executive Director of Reef Check Foundation, commented: “The oceans are our most vital resource. We need to keep them healthy. Ocean Saviour’s project to remove plastic from our oceans should be applauded. As Reef Check monitors ocean health around the world and sees the impacts of pollution first-hand, we support their ambitious approach to solving this problem.”
Dee Caffari, MBE, commented: “I have seen firsthand the sad reality of our ocean's health. Now having been part of the team collecting micro plastic data for the first time around the world, we know the issue is much worse than we all initially thought. The Ocean Saviour project would make a difference. While we still have to address the single use plastic debris getting into our oceans in the first place, Ocean Saviour would tackle the issue of clearing it from our oceans. We need innovation and new technologies like this to make change happen, alongside people with energy and passion to drive that change like Richard Roberts.”
For more information and to follow the journey of the Ocean Saviour project, please visit www.TheYachtMarket.com/OceanSaviour. Join the Ocean Saviour Eco-System by registering as a partner and become a supporter of this global venture.