When a key marine sanctuary in the Dominican Republic was being expanded, Alexei Mikhailov of Bering Yachts and Max Bello of Mission Blue formed the perfect partnership. Bello will be appearing at the Explorer Yachts Summit on 13 November at the Yacht Club de Monaco to chat more about the project .
Max Bello, an international ocean policy expert, was working with Dominican Republic politician Jorge Mera to help the country expand its marine protected area and was expecting a call from the minister when a colleague delivered the most shocking news. Mera had been murdered by a childhood friend, allegedly for refusing to grant him environmental permits.
“He was passionate about the importance of protecting the environment and wouldn’t make exceptions for anyone,” Bello, of marine action group Mission Blue, says. “It was so sad.”
Jorge Mera’s death sent shockwaves through the Caribbean nation, where attacks on politicians are rare – but if the crime was intended to derail the country’s commitment to ocean conservation, it had the opposite effect.
In April, the Dominican Republic announced the expansion of its marine protected area (MPA), part of a commitment to the global 30x30 initiative to conserve 30 per cent of land and sea for biodiversity by 2030 – the only difference being that the DR, determined to press on in Mera’s memory, was doing it six years before anyone else in the region.
The new marine sanctuaries are the Beata Ridge, a massive underwater mountain range rich in flora and fauna south of the island of Hispaniola, and Silver Bank, a remote area in the north which is home to the largest humpback whale breeding area in the world. Already designated an MPA (boats need permits to visit the area and numbers are severely restricted), Silver Bank is now being expanded.
As preparations ramped up before the announcement, Bello led a team of seven scientists, including representatives from the Blue Marine Foundation, SeaLegacy and Blue Nature Alliance, to the Silver Bank area to research and gather footage. As far as expeditions go, this was a routine research and fact-finding trip, bar one small difference: the scientists would be travelling there by superyacht.
Listen to the Big BOAT Interview podcast below to hear more about the expedition.
The man behind the yacht was Alexei Mikhailov, founder of Bering Yachts, a US-headquartered shipyard specialising in full-displacement steel exploration yachts. He hosted Bello’s team for a four-day expedition on the full-custom 29-metre Bering B92 Papillon, on loan from the Bering Charter programme.
Born in north-eastern Siberia, Mikhailov has steadily built a name for safe, sturdy and long-range explorers which, he says, “have a capability to go to areas where other boats cannot reach”. Heavy displacement boats such as Papillon are perfect for an expedition like this – “For long-range vessels, weight is your ally,” he says – but despite her explorer looks, there is no doubt that Papillon is a luxury yacht underneath.
“Compared to our usual external design, Papillon looks more yachty,” Mikhailov says. “Some might even think she is made from fibreglass. However, with her steel hull and aluminium superstructure, she’s a rugged explorer.”
And Papillon proved her mettle. Conditions were not perfect – four-metre waves and 25-knot winds for the multi-day trip to Silver Bank. “When you’re in remote locations the forecasts are not that reliable; you often cannot predict the weather,” Mikhailov says. But the project had so many stakeholders involved, with people flying in from different locations, “there was no way to postpone it or reschedule”.
It’s not every day a superyacht gets involved in such a key scientific project, but Mikhailov likes to think out of the box. He and his crew were in Silver Bank for a reconnaissance trip. He has noticed that some of his customers find it difficult to find the right crew or to decide where to travel, and Bering Yachts aims to go further than just offering technical solutions.
“We want to provide easy ownership by not only managing and maintaining our boats, but bringing purpose to the boat so that a Bering yacht is in operation most times of the year and the owner can enjoy it,” Mikhailov says.
He came across Yachts For Science, an organisation (of which BOAT International is a founding partner) that connects yacht owners and crew with marine scientists, researchers and content creators. Collaborations can open new horizons for yacht owners who want to get off the beaten track. Mikhailov thought it could also offer an exciting, meaningful, even educational, twist to charter itineraries for Bering Charter, the shipyard’s recently launched programme.
“Even before we found Yachts For Science we’d been thinking about changing our way of chartering our boats,” he says. “It’s easier for people to make a decision when they can charter a room on a boat – so we’ve introduced that as a service. Then if you can give your charter a schedule and a purpose it’s even more attractive.”
However, it wasn’t all work and no play for the Bering team. While Mikhailov was talking to me from the boat, he was also enjoying the wildlife spectacle: “I’m looking right now at a dancing whale just a few hundred metres away… it’s incredible. It’s such a unique place to be. Very few boats have permits to go there and the area is protected, so I am really fortunate to be here. It’s not your average whale-watching trip where you maybe see one or two – it’s a non-stop show.”
Read More/How to turn your superyacht into a scientific research vesselFor Bello, Silver Bank had long been on his bucket list. “It’s a shallow area in the middle of the ocean,” he says. “You travel for a day on a vessel and then there’s this area, about 10 to 20 metres deep, with very calm waters and clusters of coral that have been growing for millennia.”
The shallow waters are a safe place for majestic humpback whales to mate, give birth and raise their calves before taking a trip more than 3,000 kilometres north to their feeding grounds. Every year from January to April as many as 3,000 whales are thought to gather. The team analysed the water for traces of environmental DNA, which could tell them which species had passed through the area. They also spent time gathering footage and photos of the wildlife they saw.
“We want to show not only to the Dominican Republic people, but also to the world, what is in our seas that needs to be better protected,” Bello says.
For Mikhailov, the trip was an enlightening experience. “A marine biologist explained to us about the whales’ behaviours and whose voices we’re hearing. I’ve learnt that they’re such gentle creatures who can feel you; you can be a few centimetres from them and even though they’re 100 times bigger than you, they won’t harm you. Even the babies are careful around humans.”
He is determined to cement his relationship with Yachts For Science so that he can deepen his charter offering and help owners to have enriched adventures on his yachts. “You know, it’s just the chance to learn incredible, very condensed information from top scientists and film-makers. This is priceless; a totally memorable way to charter.”
Bello is grateful to Bering Yachts and Yachts For Science for helping get the project off the ground. “Missions like these are extremely expensive, extremely complicated and to have this platform that actually supports this, it’s just incredible,” he adds.
While it has been a resounding success, for Bello the expedition also had a bittersweet note, with Jorge Mera never far from his thoughts. But the minister’s contribution to the marine environment won’t be forgotten: the government has renamed the Beata Ridge the Orlando Jorge Mera Beata Ridge in his honour.
“I think he would be proud of what we have achieved,” Bello says.
The goal of Yachts For Science is to bring together yacht owners and crew with marine scientists, researchers and content creators and to provide access to the oceans.Visit yachtsforscience.com to find out more about the current projects in need of support.
Meet Bello at The Explorer Yachts Summit, taking place on 13 November 2024 at the Yacht Club de Monaco. Tickets are available now.
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