A practical approach for the shipping industry
For 15 years, we’ve guided profitable sailing operations in freight, trade, and ocean cleanup operations.
Clean Voyages mission is to provide shipping in the Pacific that rely on wind as the main propulsion to service remote island communities.
Our old trade route from Hawaii to the Line island Kiribati and the Northern Cooks is laid in a north-south track which is across the trade winds which provide good conditions for sailing in both directions, as demonstrated by our 15 years of operations.
The island groups in the South and Central pacific are in short of proper shipping services which left a gap that can be filled with cargo sailing vessel.
In the summer time the same vessels can be used to clean the Gyre. A ship of this size and characteristic has proven very effective in this endeavor.
In 2022, we brought SV Kwai back to the Central Pacific. Ocean Voyages Institute chartered Kwai from
owners, Marshall Islands Shipping Corporation, to again collect ghost nets and plastic debris in the North
Pacific Gyre. Island Ventures carried out a month’s refit in Honolulu including dry dock and operated the
ship for 71 days at sea, landing plastic in Sausalito California and Honolulu Hawaii. The West Coast
landing was well documented in the media and included a visit by the Lt Governor. OVI and Kwai still
claim the record for most plastic removed from the deep ocean.
IVL then chartered the ship for a voyage on our old route from Hawaii to Christmas Island with general
cargo and around the Line Islands with local cargoes. This was a welcome return for Kwai after 2.1/2
years and shows again the potential for a sailing ship on this route.
Photo © PF Bentley
We are passionate about cleaning plastic from the ocean. Our crew holds the world record for plastic removal from the Pacific Gyre.