Solar-Powered Ship Makes First Round The World Voyage
The MS Turanor PlanetSolar catamaran dropped anchor in Monaco on Friday, completing the first-ever round-the-world trip by a solar-powered vessel.
The trip was not a short one, the vessel had left Monaco in September 2010 with the goal of showing the world that sustainable technology can help safeguard our planet well into the future.
The ship was dreamed up by Swiss engineer Raphael Domjan who tells the LA Times that he may choose to rent out the ship to green fanatics looking to travel safely and efficiently. However, Domjan’s partner Immo Stroeher says the ship could serve another purpose:
“We are considering renting out the boat for scientific or commercial uses or even selling it” while he adds, “we are open for ideas and in talks with interested parties.”
Billed as a “green luxury yacht” the ship cost $12.5 million to build which isn’t a cheap price to pay, however the project aligns itself nicely with the luxury yacht industry which has worked in recent years to create more fuel efficiency for large vessels which can often cost thousands of dollars to operate because of increasing fuel costs.
In what might be one of the coolest moments in the ships completed voyage a laser light show was celebrated using the power found in the ships own battery, you can check out that laser light show on the PlanetSolar Web site. The vessels website also offers a vast knowledge bank of information pertaining to the ships specs and details from its round the world voyage.
