In September 2018, the first offshore cleaning system will be installed by Maersk Supply Service’s AHTS vessel, Maersk Launcher, in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), located 1200 nautical miles off the coast of San Francisco.
The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit organisation, has developed a 600-meter-long floating buoy system with a screen to collect plastic debris for recycling.
The system will be towed at low speed, 250 nautical miles offshore for a sea trial before towage to the installation location at the GPGP. In addition to the towing and installation, Maersk Supply Service will monitor the Cleanup System 001. Total duration of the campaign is expected to be 60 days.
“We are truly proud to be supporting the first installation of The Ocean Cleanup System. Large towing operations have been a part of Maersk Supply Service’s work-scope for decades. It is rewarding to see that our marine capabilities can be utilised within new segments, and to support solving the important environmental problem with plastics in the oceans,” Steen S. Karstensen, CEO of Maersk Supply Service, said.
The installation of the first clean-up system is partly funded by A.P. Moller – Maersk and DeepGreen. Currently, DeepGreen has Maersk Launcher on charter and has released it to perform the operation for the Ocean Cleanup.
Maersk informed that the total contribution is around USD 2 million in vessel services and equipment which also includes providing transportation of equipment needed for the installation of Cleanup System 001, from the UK and Denmark to San Francisco, as well as providing open top containers for the collected plastic.
The Ocean Cleanup’s long-term ambition is to install at least 60 systems to remove 50% of the 80,000 tonnes of plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch within five years.
丹麥航運主要公司AP穆勒 - 馬士基通過在太平洋地區安裝試驗性的清理系統，為支持海洋清理組織。
2018年9月，第一個海上清潔系統將由馬士基供應服務公司的AHTS船Maersk Launcher安裝在距離舊金山海岸1200海裡的大太平洋垃圾帶（GPGP）中。
非營利組織Ocean Cleanup開發了一個600米長的漂浮浮標系統，其中有一個紗網，用於收集塑料碎片以便回收利用。
該系統將在海上250海裡的低速下拖曳進行試航，然後再拖到GPGP的安裝地點。除拖曳和安裝外，馬士基供應服務中心還將監控清理系統001.活動的總持續時間預計為60天。
“我們真的很自豪能夠支持首次安裝海洋清理系統。幾十年來，大型牽引作業一直是馬士基供應服務公司工作範圍的一部分。看到我們的海洋能力可以在新的細分市場中得到利用，並支持解決海洋塑料的重要環境問題，這是有益的，“ 馬士基供應服務公司首席執行官Steen S. Karstensen表示。
第一個清理系統的安裝部分由AP Moller - Maersk和DeepGreen資助。目前，DeepGreen已經簽署了Maersk Launcher，並已發布它以執行Ocean Cleanup的操作。
馬士基通知說，船舶服務和設備的總貢獻約為200萬美元，其中還包括安裝清潔系統001所需的設備，從英國和丹麥到舊金山，以及提供開頂的貨櫃來收集塑料。
Ocean Cleanup的長期目標是在五年內安裝至少60個系統，以清除Great Pacific Garbage Patch中80,000噸塑料中的50％。
Information source: World Maritime News Staff; Image Courtesy: Maersk Twitter
