Ocean Race aids environmental research

Ocean Race aids environmental research

August 2008

The Volvo Ocean Yacht Race is taking part in a pioneering project aimed at finding out how the oceans have been affected by ships exchanging billions of tonnes of ballast water.

Each boat in the race will be involved in the programme which was initiated by the Official Logistics Partner, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL).

The dedicated media crew member on board each racing yacht will be responsible for taking regular water samples using a sophisticated testing process based on bioluminescence using a measuring instrument called a luminometer.

The research at sea involves recording the mass of species in the sample and reporting the results. A scientific report of the findings will be published post-race.

The race route provides scientists with a rare opportunity to analyse the biomass of the water in deep seas not on the regular shipping routes.

WWL, an environmental leader in logistics and ocean transportation, is very enthusiastic about the project. It provides an opportunity to advance scientific research as to how foreign invaders found in ballast water are upsetting the eco-systems in the world's great oceans.

"Invasive species are one of the four major threats to the world's oceans, the other three being global climate change, marine pollution and over fishing," said WWL's Global Head of Environment, Melanie Moore.

"What we want to look at is the mass of species along the race route. That's the benefit of what the crew can do for us. It's about conducting research that will go towards creating some better ballast water treatment systems for the future," she added.

The United Nations marine body, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), is in the process of getting member nations to ratify a convention which would force countries to ensure that their ships treat their ballast water so that it doesn't carry invasive species to other oceans.

Every country on the 2008-09 race route is under threat from invasive marine species, from the Ostrea gigas (oyster) in South Africa, which has destroyed habitats and caused eutrophication, to the Gymondinium catenatum in China, an algae which has caused shellfish poisoning.

To put this research in perspective, the IMO has issued a dire warning about the threat of invasive marine species carried across the world in ballast water.

"Unlike other marine pollution, from which the environment will eventually recover, the impacts of invasive marine species are most often irreversible."

The Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 will be the 10th running of this ocean marathon. Starting from Alicante in Spain, on 4 October it will, for the first time, take in Cochin, Singapore and Qingdao before finishing in St Petersburg, Russia for the first time in the history of the race. Spanning some 37,000 nautical miles, stopping at 11 ports and taking nine months to complete, the Volvo Ocean Race is the world's premier yacht race for professional racing crews.

ENDS

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