The Technology Services Company, ABB, has expressed its support for the Ocean Pollution Control Group by providing on-board systems and expertise to support research trips carried out by a charity whose primary mission and purpose is to highlight the damage caused by the millions of tons of plastics that end up polluting the waters of the world’s oceans every year.
The environmental advocacy group that is benefiting is called By the Ocean We Unite (BTOWU), which has installed a state-of-the-art Marine Advisory System which includes MeteoGroup SPOS Onboard meteorological routing software in the yacht Fantastiko.
This ingenious system will help the crew of the BTOWU to plan and monitor weather conditions on a research trip in the waters of Rotterdam, the South of England, the Channel Islands, France and Belgium. The trip, of around 17 days, is comprised by the team of professionals onboard Fantastiko which will work in support of scientists who investigate the sources and impacts of plastic pollution on one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
In this sense Thomas van Thiel of By the Ocean We Unite stated that it is currently estimated that 23,000,000 kilos of plastics are dumped into the world’s oceans every minute. Thomas claims that these materials are being fragmented into smaller and smaller particles, damaging the marine environment, marine life and thus entering the food chain. Plastics also act as sponges for toxic products already in the seas, concentrating areas of pollution. Sources and effects should be identified because prevention is not only the best option, but more economical than the cleaning of the oceans.
For this reason ABB is a partner and sponsor of the group, and also helps to spread the research at sea through its online Marine Fleet portal, which is linked in turn with the BTOWU website. In this way people interested in the subject can follow the status of navigation expeditions, in addition, the portal also houses data that have been stored manually covering the types of plastic particles that are found.
ABB’s marine software has a complete portfolio of performance management and decision-making products in marine operations to improve safety, workability, reduce fuel consumption and energy efficiency on board the ship.
ABB Benelux Vice President Marina and Ports, Bart Cunnen, said the company’s technology group is committed to technologies that are compatible with sustainability but are also delighted that marine software is being used directly in the battle to protect the environment Marine environment.
Cunnen said that through the support offered to BTOWU, it is part of a commitment to offer service that has a real impact on the improvement of marine sustainability, including energy efficiency training.
