A green conversion
One of our goals in this conversion is to be as green as possible. There are many ways to accomplish this and the extra cost is really not significant on a project this size.
For instance, the floors inside will use FSC-approved (Forest Stewardship Council) wood. And rather than using illegially harvested teak from Birma, we use a teak-look-alike composit material on our decks. Our waste water is biologically treated with a plant that will meet the new 2010 Marpol guidelines. That basically means you´ll be able to drink our waste water after it’s been treated. Our vacuum toilet system will require just 1/4 gallon (less than 1 liter ! !) of water to flush, about 1/4 of a typical ‘water saving’ US toilet.
We use as little wood as possible. Besides the environmental impact, there are safer materials out there. Why use wood when you can use something that looks just like it so you don´t have to cut trees? Take a product like Xorel for instance, offering sustainable wall covering. Or those listed at ToMarket, listing many alternative materials for interior spaces.
Another way to go green on the environment is saving energy. Using the hot cooling water of our auxiliary engines and heat exchangers, we can save up to about 100 KWh each day to heat tap water. The same heat can be used to warm our ship when we are in cooler climates. Our isolation will be extremely thorough which will allow us lower our air conditioning capacity needs. Our huge 12ft prop is very efficient and the specific fuel consumption of our main main engine which turns only at about 600 to 700 rpm is beats any Caterpillar out there. In our galley we will use induction cooking, providing great savings by avoiding heat loss. 80% Of our lighting needs will be met with extremely efficient LED illumination.
Our generators are dimensioned in such a way that we have a lot of flexibility to meet our energy needs. We always try to run a generator at 70% or more of its capacity. This avoid pollution of the auxiliary engine that powers the generator. Depending on our power needs, we put a second generator online, or put the bigger one online and switch the first one off. With 3 generators, all meeting the latest environmental standards we’ll be able to produce clean energy at all times.
Our paints will meet the latest IMO guidelines so the TBT-free antifouling doesn´t kill the sealife nor represents a hazard to the people applying it.
Wherever possible we make use of recycled materials and if we can re-use any material, we use it again (provided it meets the standards required by the Classification bureau).
All refrigerants we use on board will meet the latest European standards. Our HALON engineroom fire fighting system has already been replaced with a more environmentally friendly FM-200 system while in the guest accommodations we´ll use water.
When we carry guests, it will be following the standard of the ISO 14001 on environmental management practices.
Bottom line: it actually makes sense to be green. With a little more thinking and investigative work it’s clear it doesn’t cost a fortune to be green but it does make a difference.
