Matson Leads Corporate Donors in Campaign to Build Prototype Ocean-Cleaning Vessels

In a bold bid to take its mission to rid the oceans of consumer plastics worldwide, Ocean Voyages Institute (OVI) recently announced plans to build two custom-designed sailing cargo vessels that will serve as the prototype for a global fleet of cleanup vessels. Matson was the lead corporate donor to the campaign with a $500,000 contribution.

A leader in the at-sea ocean cleanup of the North Pacific Gyre, OVI completed the largest open ocean cleanup in history, recovering a record amount of plastics during its summer voyage in 2020. Since then, OVI has removed and repurposed, upcycled, and recycled nearly 800,000 pounds of recovered plastics.

“The scope and urgency of the problem of ocean plastics demand action on many fronts, and we believe OVI’s proven method for removing plastics from the ocean efficiently and sustainably is a scalable, viable global solution,” said Matt Cox, chairman and CEO. “Matson is proud to support this project, and we look forward to  continuing our partnership with OVI to advance its important work in the Pacific in the coming years.”

Sausalito, Calif.-based Ocean Voyages Institute was founded in 1979 by OVI President Mary Crowley. OVI’s continuing innovation combines the sustainability of sailing with a range of
new technologies, including specialized camera equipment, drones, satellites, and modern equipment and methods for debris removal.

“Our custom-designed sailing cargo ships will serve as a prototype for a fleet of purpose-built ocean cleanup vessels,” said Crowley in and statement released last month. “We have proven over the
last four years that our ocean cleanup missions using our GPS satellite trackers and a low carbon emitting 130-foot sailing cargo ship have worked, and now we want our ocean and people worldwide to benefit from our success.”

With the addition of two new vessels, OVI plans to operate year-round missions, allowing the organization to expand beyond summer cleanups in the North Pacific Gyre area to missions in many island areas of the Pacific. They also plan to expand cleanups to address the growing plastic problems in Panama, Costa Rica, Columbia, and the Galapagos Archipelago regions.

Vancouver-based design studio Ron Holland Design will lead the new build team and a squad of naval architects, engineers, vessel captains, and operators, all collaborating to produce the best
possible sailing cleanup vessels. OVI’s goal is to begin construction of the vessels in 2025 and launch the first in 2026.