A 596-foot superyacht is being built in a Norwegian shipyard right now, scheduled for her maiden launch sometime in 2020. One could reasonably expect the billionaire owner of said yacht would have a pretty awesome party planned for that occasion, but one would be wrong.
The Norwegian Research Expedition Vessel (REV) could be the largest yacht in the world once construction is finished two to three years from now and its purpose actually has more to do with saving the oceans than simply basking in them. Kjell Inge Rokke is one of Norway’s richest men, with an estimated fortune of a little more than $2 billion (USD). Rokke has teamed up with the World Wildlife Fund to build a yacht equipped with something called a moonpool for underwater launching and retrieval, an underwater noise pollution prevention system, and a laundry list of other “green features” throughout the vessel. It will support 30 crew members, more than 20 scientists, and more than 30 other passengers. Among many things, the ship will remove up to five tons of plastic daily from the ocean and melt it down to cut down on plastic pollution. It will hold sea and air drones, multiple research labs, and even an auditorium. Rokke’s ship is essentially being turned into a floating ocean saving superfort – all with a price tag that has yet to be disclosed.
“I want to give back to society the lion’s share of what I’ve earned,” Rokke said of REV being just part of his plan to donate most of his fortune. Ironically, much of that fortune comes from owning an oil business today, and after moving to the U.S. and becoming a fisherman, he started to build his wealth by buying and repurposing old boats for commercial fishing. Now he’s on a mission to save the ocean.
“We are far apart in their views on oil, and we will continue to challenge Røkke when we disagree with him,” WFF chief Nina Jensen said of the partnership, “but in this project, we will meet to collectively make a big difference in the environmental struggle.”
