An eco-friendly sailing yacht concept named Manta that scoops up plastic oceanic waste and converts it into fuel has been revealed.
Presented by The SeaCleaners and French adventurer Yvan Bourgnon, the 56 metre sailing catamaran is capable of collecting and processing large amounts of marine plastic waste.
A total of 20 companies and five research laboratories have collaborated on the design and development of the boat across a period of three years. It is hoped a shipyard can be selected to build the project later this year with the launch scheduled for 2024.
Manta will feature a customised hybrid system as well as 1,500 square metres of sails operating on automated rigging and electric motors. Other energy equipment on board will include two wind turbines, hydro generators and 500 square metres of solar panels.
The catamaran will be capable of collecting floating waste from 10mm to one metre below the surface at a rate of one to three tons per hour moving at a speed of two to three knots. It will operate mainly in Asia, Africa and South America.
As well as collecting and converting plastic waste, it is hoped Manta will be used as a scientific laboratory for the analysis of ocean plastic pollution.
With a beam 26 metres, Manta can carry a total of 34 people on board. This includes 22 crew members with three operators for waste sorting and two operators for waste-to-energy conversion. A total of 12 passengers can be accommodated on board, including up to 10 scientists.