Page 10: of Maritime Logistics Professional Magazine (Q4 2015)

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Entrepreneur

If you told me four years ago (during a

Shipping’s Stake in summer school exchange) that next time I’d “ be back here accepting an award from the

Ocean Clean-Up

King of Norway I wouldn’t have believed it.

Boyan Slat, Nor-Shipping’s

Young Entrepreneur prize winner – Boyan Slat, Nor-Shipping Young ”

Entrepreneur prize winner

By William Stoichevski rawn from the palace for the event, the King of Nor- swirl of refuse circulating in perpetuity off the Western Unit- way looks more solemn than many are used to seeing ed States. “If you told me four years ago (during a summer

Dhim, as he walks the catwalk to bestow honors and school exchange) that next time I’d be back here accepting an the Nor-Shipping Young Entrepreneur prize on a young Dutch award from the King of Norway I wouldn’t have believed it,” citizen. The 21-year-old Boyan Slat and his Netherlands- the poised, slightly giddy Slat says in a modest victory ad- based Ocean Clean-up impress not just King Harald and the dress that drew laughter and applause. He says he got the idea

Nor-Shipping awards committee, but a mixed audience of to do something about pollution when diving in Greece as a 800 from the worldwide shipping community and Norwe- teenager and ? nding “more plastic bags than ? sh.” The idea gian of? cialdom. The Young Entrepreneur Award honors a that eventually spawned was “a very long ? oating barrier to person under the age of 40, “a professional who has founded passively concentrate the plastic”, since a clean-up using nets a successful company to address maritime challenges in an and boats would take “about 79,000 years and tens of billions innovative and new way”. The prize injects a bit of youthful of dollars.” appeal and wildcard relevance to a Nor-Shipping conference “We’ve been able to show that with this technology, 100-km and tradeshow that attracted 15,400 visitors in 2015. The prize arrays deployed between Hawaii and California would clean was juried in part by U.S.-based, clean-shipping protagonist, up half the great Paci? c (Ocean) garbage patch in 10-years’

Carbon War Room. time,” Slat asserts, adding that he’ll take the award as a sign that the Ocean Clean-up project “has the support of the ship-

Innovation ping industry, which is obviously an important stakeholder in

Slat’s invention is an “ocean curtain” that drapes for miles this project.” Yet, in a note to Maritime Professional, recent to trap plastic bags, six-pack rings and other garbage tossed Chamber of American Shipping chief executive Joe Cox says by humans or carried by the wind into the sea. His technol- that while the shipping community has committed to prevent- ogy targets “the removal of half the (trash in the so-called) ing pollution it doesn’t necessarily see “clean-up” as its role. great Paci? c garbage patch.” The “patch” is a continent-sized “An owner would naturally question his responsibility to clean 10 Maritime Professional 4Q 2015I I 1-17 Q4 MP2015.indd 10 11/18/2015 10:28:30 AM