Inspired by yacht owners and crews and to coincide with World Environment Day, prominent Dutch yachtbuilder Amels announced that it is designing drinking water purification systems into all new Amels Limited Editions yacht projects. These systems can save thousands of plastic bottles a year to tackle the global plastic waste problem, while providing very pleasant-tasting and safe drinking water.
Although Amels has used desalination watermakers for decades, the yard has now also designed remineralization and purification systems into its new Limited Editions yachts just before the tap point. This means crews have convenient access to great-tasting water, made by the yacht itself, wherever in the world they are. Options include carbonated water and chilled water, and can be used for guests as well as crew.
The latest example is aboard the Amels 242 yacht New Secret, delivered in 2017.
“On New Secret, we came up with a system so we can drink our own tap water,” says Build Captain Remo Mayer. “We have stainless steel bottles for the whole crew and we save up to about 10,000 plastic bottles a year. That’s maybe a small step, but I think more ships should do it. It’s good for the environment to have something like this in place.”
As well as tackling plastic waste, the system also reduces the logistical demands of shipping water bottles, storing them on board and shore disposal of the empty bottles. Even though yacht crews responsibly dispose of plastic water bottles when they reach the shore, recycling infrastructure is not always in place. The new drinking water system is a great way to reduce the plastic footprint of yacht ownership.
Manufacturing superyachts requires a lot of power and materials, but Amels is working to make significant reductions in its carbon footprint. The Dutch yard complies with the strict health, safety, environment and quality standards in the Netherlands (and ISO 14001 certification is in progress), but they are also always looking for innovative ways to become more efficient and sustainable while keeping the environment clean. Just a few initiatives the yard is currently working on include:
- Installing 5,000 solar panels on their production halls,
generating 1.8 MW per year - 6 separate waste recycling streams
- 75% less power consumption with LED lighting
- Initiatives to encourage cycling to work and hybrid cars
- Wind turbines to harvest the North Sea breeze
“I would say we’re keen to be green,” says Amels Production Manager Bert Beckers. “We can always improve so the bar is set high and stays high. It’s challenging in such a busy and complex shipbuilding yard, but we see it as part of our responsibility in this industry. That’s the AMELS way of working. We want an owner to be able to turn up at any moment and be presented with us just as we are: clean, professional and hardworking.”
For more information: amels-holland.com
