The 106.7-meter S/Y Black Pearl built by Oceanco is a true eco-conscious yacht for the 21st century
Captain Chris Gartner and his crew aboard Black Pearl took the time to answer the questionnaire put forth by the International Superyacht Society regarding strides to create greener yachting
What was taken into account upon design and build to make the boat as eco-friendly as possible?
• We use the Dyna rig for sailing
• Heat recovery from our generators and PT main engine to warm our ship, swimming pool and potable hot water
• The design of the hull to allow us to move economically through the water
• Regeneration abilities while sailing
• Large lithium ion battery bank to run ship
• Sewage treatment system where we do not discharge anything but fresh water and accumulated sludge outside of 12NM
• Energy management systems that regulates our power consumption under different modes; guest onboard, only crew alongside or guest or crew on a passage.
• Aircon system designed so that areas not in use are regulated to reduce the HVAC power consumption and this is even more prevalent when using the different ‘Eco modes’ that are preset into our control system
• Higher grades of insulation to keep interior temperatures lower cutting down on the HVAC requirements
• Better UV windows do to keep interior temperatures lower cutting HVAC requirements
• Hot air from Captain’s cabin used to heat local city.
• Different modes of propulsion, sailing, Diesel Electric, battery and diesel or the combination of the above.
What is environmentally friendly in the running of the boat daily (water maker, use of eco-friendly products…)?
• We use as many eco-friendly cleaning products as possible onboard – the latest addition that we are trialing are laundry detergent eggs – one egg lasts for 70 washes therefore cutting down on the amount of plastic detergent bottles used.
• All housekeeping products were environmentally sourced without containing harmful chemicals.
• We use bagless vacuum cleaners
• A lot of our toiletries onboard are eco-friendly for example bamboo toothbrushes instead of plastic and we buy items such as shampoo and hand soap in large recycled 5-liter containers which we decant, this in turn offers a more sustainable, plastic reducing alternative and can save up to a years’ worth of plastic bottles from landfill.
• We have a water making system on board for drinking water which stops the use of single use plastic water bottles.
• We have cut down on the number of single use plastic onboard for example we now use bamboo or glass straws, re-usable silicone zip lock bags and reusable shopping bags.
• We have a garbage separation system – all garbage is separated before it leaves the yacht and disposed of accordingly.
• Food cooked during the week is repurposed as self-service weekend food, as we all know food waste in a landfill is not environmentally friendly.
• We send HP printer cartridges off for recycling with the HP recycling program free of charge.
• In the galley we use recycled paper towel.
• In the galley instead of using single use plastics or poor-quality plastics we use Tupperware that will last a considerable amount of time it is recycled once determined unusable anymore or passed onto another department for storage.
• We use glass jars in the galley for storage of spices, Jams and preserves instead of plastic we also purchase items like yoghurt, Mayonnaise, sauces in glass jars.
• Where possible in the galley we use eco-friendly or biological products such as; Milk, Yoghurt, Eggs, Meat, Fish and most fruit and vegetables.
• We recycle all glass jars and bottles; we use them for table decorations for the guests and use them for events such a sweet bowls for Christmas. • Make our own anti-wrinkle spray in the laundry.
• Make a lot of our own cleaning products avoid unnecessary ingredients.
Do you have a policy about single-use plastic onboard?
• Use as little of it as possible which his very difficult to do
• Plastic bags are re-used and we are phasing them out by using plastic containers or re-usable silicon bags
• We all have water bottles and we never buy water in plastic bottles, totally forbidden.
• Chefs try to buy bulk items such as blocks of cheese and slice it up and then bag it instead of buying sliced cheese in plastic boxes • It’s hard to rule out plastic completely but in the galley, we mostly rule out single use plastic to do this we buy at wholesale and break products down accordingly.
• Interior opt to buy eco items wherever possible and try to re-use all plastic containers. We do not allow plastic bags on board, only bags for life.
Do you feel that, generally speaking, owners as well as guests feel concerned about avoiding single use plastic during a cruise?
Yes, everyone wants to do more but it is very difficult as the recycling of plastic is such a farce.
Do you drink the water made onboard?
Of course, we do. We test our water all the time and to make sure that there are no problems and we have many different types of filters to make sure the water is safe to drink. We also have hot, warm, cold, carbonated, lightly carbonated and plain water for crew to drink in the crew pantry.
As an experienced captain, what do you think would bring awareness to owners and guests about not buying plastic bottled water?
• Lead by example about not using single use plastics.
• Suggest to people not to have bottled water that comes in plastic bottles.
• Give the guests water bottles as an arrival gift so they can use these during their holidays.
Interviewed by Board Member, Jill Bobrow
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