Simrad Yachting has outfitted the bridge of the RV Plastic Odyssey as part of a 4-year partnership supporting Plastic Odyssey’s expedition around the globe to tackle the issue of plastic pollution in our planet’s oceans. The partnership was announced last year but due to a 1-year delay from the pandemic and technical challenges, Plastic Odyssey shifted departure festivities to late 2022 with the circumnavigation scheduled for 3 years.
“We are excited about supporting Plastic Odyssey’s mission and expedition by fully equipping the vessel’s bridge with the latest in radar and navigation technology,” says James Methven, Global Head of Brand, Simrad Yachting. “The boat refit over the past year is only the start. We look forward to sharing this inspiring adventure of the Plastic Odyssey team, helping keep them safe and on course, while also covering the voyage across our digital platforms with updates. Plastic Odyssey’s goal is to address plastic pollution on a global scale by traveling to low-and-middle-income countries – where coastal cities have amassed massive quantities of plastic – in the hope of turning these areas into local micro-factories as the main raw material for the transformation of plastic waste into building materials and fuel, thanks to low-tech and easily transferable technologies. Plastic Odyssey also plans to work towards a plastic-free future through the development of various awareness-raising, educational and social sciences research programs.
“The refit of the Plastic Odyssey is finished after more than 2 years of hard work,” said Simon Bernard, Founder and CEO, Plastic Odyssey. “The bridge and its electronics were refitted with state-of-the-art Simrad® products and we are not only thrilled but also very confident in these systems that are key for a vessel about to circumnavigate the globe for 3 years.”
In July 2022, the boat headed to Marseille, France to prepare for the expedition departure. Along with providing Plastic Odyssey with the latest Simrad® electronics and navigation technology, Simrad® technical experts have been on hand to train Plastic Odyssey researchers and captains. Featured Simrad products on the bridge include R5024 12U/6X CAT 2 Radar, Simrad P3007 GPS system and S3009 Navigation .