The first ever entirely solar-powered ship to circle the globe embarked on this tremendous journey that has taken it through 28 countries, 11 seas and 3 oceans two years ago and lasted a whopping 585 days. Reportedly named the MS Tûranor Planetsolar, its journey started on the 27th of September 2010, at 2:00 p.m. and ended at 2:21 p.m., in Monaco.
The ship has started a new journey during this month, touching at famous ports of the Mediterranean Sea, like Spain’s Barcelona and Mallorca, as well as Cagliari, on the island of Sardinia. The crew of this massive sailing wonder says that it’s actually “more than a ship”, now being a “mobile battery”. It can power up concerts and lightshows, can hold exhibitions and do all sorts of activities that other ships cannot, in every port it docks in.
The name Tûranor was picked from the fabled Lord of the Rings book, by J. R. R. Tolkien, where it stands for “the power of the sun”. Built as a catamaran, it measures 115 feet in length (35 meters) and presents itself covered in 537 square meters (5,780 square feet) of photovoltaic panels (a total of 38,000 individual solar cells feed 6 huge blocks of Li-Ion batteries) with 18.8% yield, all the ensemble generating around 260,000 kWh of electricity over the so-planned 60,006 kilometer voyage (37,000 nautical miles).
The development project has lasted for a whopping 8 years (started way back in 2004 by Swiss explorer Raphël Domjan, with finances from Immo Ströher, a fabled German entrepreneur), while the vessel’s construction has lasted for just 14 months. The individual behind the design of this magnificent work of art is coming from New Zealand, in the person of Craig Loomes, aided by a team of engineers.
It has barely come to life and has already broken 4 naval records – the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by solar boat (26 days 19 hours and 10 minutes), the longest distance ever covered by a solar electric vehicle, the first circumnavigating achieved by a solar craft – 1 year, 7 months and 7 days, as well as the fastest crossing of the South China Sea by solar power – 4 days, 23 hours and 45 minutes.
A crew of 6 has embarked on the fabled journey, while, for the second leg of the voyage, it got reduced to 4. Safety was an important issue, as the catamaran has started off with 6 additional former French soldiers to ensure protection while passing through the Gulf of Aden.
The grandiose vessel was opened to public in Cagliari, on the 30th of July 2012, with the new captain Eric Dumont speaking of the ship’s grandeur.
[DesignBoom]
