Swiss power company ABB is underlining its green commitment to the ocean by providing shipboard systems to a vessel which researches plastic pollution.
The group has installed a Marine Advisory System including SPOS Onboard weather routing software from MeteoGroup, onBy the Ocean we Unite's sailing yacht Fantastiko to aid crew on its latest plastics research voyage in waters off Rotterdam, the South of England, the Channel Islands, France and Belgium.
“Today, it is estimated that 23,000kg of plastics are dumped into the world’s oceans every single minute,” said Thomas van Thiel, By the Ocean we Unite.
“These materials are fragmenting into ever smaller particles, damaging the marine environment and marine life, and entering the food chain. Plastics also act as sponges to other toxic chemicals already in the seas, concentrating areas of pollution. Removing plastics from the oceans is not currently feasible, but we must identify sources and effects because prevention is not only the better option, but cheaper than cleaning the oceans.”
By the Ocean we Unite is a the charitable organisation whose mission is to highlight the damage done by the millions of tonnes of plastics that end up in the world’s oceans every year.
During its 17-day voyage, the professional crew on board Fantastiko will work in support of scientists researching first-hand the sources of and impact made by plastic pollution in one of the busiest seaways in the world.
ABB is a campaign partner and sponsor, also helping to publicise seagoing research by making voyage data available through its online Marine Fleet portal, which links to the BTOWU website.
The BTOWU audience can follow the status of sailing expeditions, while the portal also hosts data that has been input manually covering the types of plastic particles that are being found.
source: GreenPort
