Swan Hellenic has announced that its Cruising4Oceans initiative is now recognized as a pilot site within the GlobalCoast Network, an effort supported by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (UN Ocean Decade).
Andrea Zito, CEO of Swan Hellenic, said: “We are particularly proud that Swan Hellenic’s initiative has been included in a program endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade.
“Our expedition ships take our guests to some of the most remote and extraordinary places on Earth, and we believe that being able to operate in these environments comes with a responsibility to make our presence as positive and meaningful as possible.
“We want our ships not simply to visit these places but to contribute to their understanding and protection. Cruising4Oceans is a very practical expression of that ambition: while our ships are carrying guests on expedition, they can also contribute valuable observations to the international scientific community,” added Zito.
Mario Dogliani, president of the foundation that promotes maritime sustainability and ocean health restoration, SDG4MED, and coordinator of Cruising4Oceans, said: “We are not creating a new scientific approach; we are simply making scientific use of ships that are already there.”
“By collecting observations every day and making the validated data freely available through EMODnet, Cruising4Oceans can provide information from areas where recurring observations are otherwise extremely difficult to obtain,” added Dogliani.
Swan Hellenic said in a press release that the pilot is unique as the Network’s first ship-based site and its southernmost, centered on Deception Island in Antarctica.
Swan Hellenic’s Vega, Diana and Minerva operate here during the Antarctic summer, collectively forming a “moving ocean observatory.” They gather ongoing environmental data during cruises, providing information to the global scientific community.
Unlike fixed observation stations, this ship-based approach uses vessels already navigating some of the most remote and data-scarce waters on Earth, according to the press release.
Beyond environmental data collection, Cruising4Oceans involves guests in citizen science and ocean awareness activities. When conditions allow, the initiative also incorporates marine litter and plastic removal efforts.
While Deception Island is the first pilot site for the GlobalCoast Network, Swan Hellenic’s expedition ships also operate in other remote coastal regions like Svalbard and Greenland, where similar data-collection efforts are underway, the company said.
The model can be replicated wherever commercial vessels travel in data-poor marine areas.
