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A billionaire who once profited from offshore drilling is now funding a yacht for marine research and ocean plastic cleanup called the REV.

Given he has profited from owning almost 67 percent of shipping and offshore drilling, he wants “to give back to society the bulk of what I’ve earned.” The preparations for the yacht’s expedition are already in play.

This Norwegian billionaire, Kjell Inge Røkke, is collaborating with the World Wildlife Fund Norway, who will manage the ship. With the help of WWF and Rokke’s funding, the team will be able to study and clean up the oceans.  

This ship has the ability to clean five tons of plastic every day, as well as melt it down completely. And the scientists will have access to laboratories, as well as an underwater vehicle, drones, and two helipads. This way, they have enough equipment to conduct research on the 70% of the world that is not yet fully discovered.

This will be the largest yacht in the entire world, according to Yacht Harbour. There will be 60 scientists and 40 crew members. The size of the fleet brings up some sustainability conflicts. However, rest assured, this yacht is well equipped with power-saving technology, such as a “Green Pilot” system to regulate emissions and a heat recovery system to produce clean water. They also used the plastic they collect and burn as fuel to keep the vessel running.

The only other yacht close to its size was the 592-foot Azzam yacht, which was owned by a private royal family. But this yacht has much bigger plans. This yacht has a long adventure ahead of cleaning and research. Investors and scientists alike hope to see data come from this expedition that will help make our oceans healthier.

REV should be ready to make its initial journey in 2020. If the journey goes as planned, they will spread awareness and data on how to protect and clean our oceans.

This will represent a journey of giving back more than what you take. It will help show that persistence in research only moves us forward. The oceans are the world’s last frontier. And if we continue to ignore what the oceans tell us, our planet will only be in a more trouble.