Satellite links support clean seas project
Project Kaisei team members collect mid-ocean marine debris.
Maritime satellite communications provider Marlink has teamed up with antenna manufacturer Sea Tel to provide satellite communications support to Project Kaisei for a third expedition.
Set up by Ocean Voyages Institute of California in 2008, Project Kaisei seeks viable solutions to the growing problems associated with marine debris in the North Pacific Gyre, which can then be developed for all oceans of the world.
Both VSAT antenna equipment and airtime have been donated to Project Kaisei by Sea Tel and Marlink, to provide Ku-band coverage facilitating voice and broadband Internet that will function seamlessly, even in the remote areas where Project Kaisei will be operating. From real-time weather updates to blogging and emailing the latest information, photographs and video, the satellite communications services support an extensive range of applications which are fundamental to Project Kaisei’s success and dynamic education on the issue.
Tore Morten Olsen, CEO of Marlink said, “I am pleased to confirm Marlink’s supply of airtime to Project Kaisei for a third consecutive year. It is vital that we continue to support and encourage projects such as Kaisei in the important research needed to make the world’s shipping lanes safer and ecologically viable for shipping operators, their crews and passengers.”
Wes Schenck, technical sales manager at Sea Tel added, “Project Kaisei is a great and relevant initiative. By researching the maritime ecosystem, the project helps to keep the marine environment sustainable and we are delighted to be able to support its efforts with the donation of a Sea Tel antenna.”
For the last three years the Ocean Voyages Institute has conducted expeditions to the North Pacific Gyre and California coastal areas as part of its ocean clean-up initiative. The Gyre/North Pacific Sub-tropical Convergence zone is a remote and inaccessible area created by four major ocean currents and spans much of the Pacific, between California and Asia. This area, once a healthy oceanic ecosystem, is now home to a large concentration of toxic plastic proliferation.
“This problem is happening in all the world's oceans, so we are dedicated to finding solutions to this urgent issue, said Mary T. Crowley, president of the Ocean Voyages Institute and co-founder of Project Kaisei. “Continued support from our partners such as Marlink and Sea Tel is instrumental in helping to achieve this.”
For further information on Project Kaisei visit: www.oceanvoyagesinstitute.org
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