Keeping luxury yachts moored is very expensive. Some researchers have a suggestion for the rich: donate them to science.

For the super-rich like Warren Buffett or Bill Gates, who have assets of over $100 billion, the easiest thing to do is to give away a portion of their wealth in the form of stocks or cash. However, millionaires may find it more difficult to donate their luxury yachts to science.

A new initiative called Yacht for science It seeks to persuade millionaire superyacht owners to give up their boats when they are not being used for marine studies.

Marine research is not a luxury.Few scientists can boast that they spent nearly two years sailing the Caribbean on a luxury yacht. However, this adventure on board Archimedesa 68-metre luxury ‘adventure’ yacht, published by Robert Brewin, Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter (UK) study On microscopic plankton and other organisms with a marine food base by studying the color of the water.

In this post, the professor highlighted that the scientific community could greatly benefit from the use of luxury yachts and the technology on board these vessels.[…] “Reaching out to wealthy citizens can help scientists fill gaps in research capacity.”

Yacht owners are starting to get involved.Yacht owners love it. Archimedes They are beginning to see the value of their vessels in scientific research. Tom Peterson, owner of the Valkyrie, a 24-metre yacht, has donated 15 to 20 days to a scientific team, covering fuel costs. “There’s a personal satisfaction that we’re contributing to something bigger than ourselves.” AnnounceMillionaire luck.

Brokers between millionaires and scientistsThere are more and more entities associated with the luxury yacht industry, working to raise awareness among their users to abandon their boats for scientific purposes. One of them is the choice Monaco Yacht Club And Eos Flights who present themselves as intermediaries between luxury yacht owners and scientific research teams.

“If the yacht is in operation 365 days a year, rather than being left idle for months, it will be better to contribute a positive return through science and environmental conservation.” It statesRob McCallum, Founder of EYOS Expeditions Bloomberg.

There is a problem, the research is also polluted.Along with private jets, luxury yachts contribute significantly to the carbon footprint of millionaires, according to Investigation From Indiana University, which represents 64% of the total polluting emissions of the world’s 20 largest wealth. study In 2019, it is estimated that a 71-metre luxury yacht pollutes the equivalent of 200 cars per year.

Also, increasing the activity of these ships would increase carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. It would be ironic if, to save one, According to the United Nations The scientific community is the largest carbon sink on the planet, and carbon emissions must increase. According to study Published in the journal Science, the oceans absorbed about 30% of the planet’s carbon dioxide emissions produced between 1994 and 2007.

Few ships and much seaResources for marine research are extremely scarce due to their high cost. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is one of the major marine research organizations and has only Fleet of 15 ships To cover thousands of scientific research requests.

The organization receives requests for the equivalent of 20,000 sailing days on its ships annually (each expedition includes several research teams), but on average it can only fulfill the equivalent of 2,300 of those requests.

Having more boats would speed up research, as well as help ease the burden of maintaining these luxury yachts. Scientists accepted on NOAA assignments must cover daily total expenses ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 per day for navigation. If a millionaire were to give up his yacht, it would save the researchers less on mooring and maintenance costs.

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Image | Unsplash (Carl Callwood), Fadship