Marine conservation: New Malizia mission - Boris Herrmann presents research vessel

Since their foundation, Boris Herrmann and Team Malizia have stood for two major themes: successfully competing in offshore regattas and climate protection with a focus on the world's oceans. With the most recent sporting highlight of the Vendée Globe not long ago and the third solo around the world in 2028 and many regatta highlights on the way, Boris Herrmann presented a new major project in a speech at the first National Marine Conference in Berlin.

Team Malizia: a racing yacht and a research vessel

While the Imoca "Malizia - Seaexplorer" continues to take part in regattas and also collects scientific data, the new "Malizia Explorer" and their crews are fully dedicated to research, communication and public relations. At the same time, Team Malizia is calling for cooperation and scientific projects and is looking for partners. The F. Laeisz shipping company and renowned institutions such as the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), Geomar, Hereon and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO are already on board.

The new research vessel comes in the ninth year of the Malizia team's history and is an almost 26-metre-long aluminium sailing ship, a former cruising yacht built in 2005. The ship was refitted over the winter in Lorient and is currently being equipped with scientific instruments. These include a so-called "Ocean Pack" for continuous data collection and a CTD rosette for taking water samples - the tools for analysing the effects of climate change on the oceans.

The team statement says: "It is an important step in the team's ongoing efforts to collect data in remote and relevant ocean regions, advance scientific research and raise public awareness of the crucial role of the ocean in our climate system." The new research vessel will be more than just a platform for scientific discovery.

Boris Herrmann wants to "give the ocean a voice"

Boris Herrmann says: "It's a step towards uniting sailors, scientists and creatives to give the ocean a voice. Our mission has always been to raise awareness about climate change and the oceans. This research vessel is a natural progression of our team's mission, allowing us to expand our impact, explore new regions, collaborate with scientists and spread the urgent message about ocean health and climate change."

We don't just want to collect data, we also want to bring the story of what happens beneath the surface to life." Boris Herrmann

The ship was launched in April. A few days before the third United Nations Ocean Conference and World Oceans Day on 8 June, the "Malizia Explorer" will be christened in Monaco by oceanographer and researcher Dr Sylvia Earle on 6 June.

Expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic planned

The first missions are planned in the Mediterranean. According to Team Malizia, the region offers "both high scientific value and great opportunities for public involvement". In the coming years, "Malizia Explorer" will carry out expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctic. At the start of the project, Team Malizia is actively looking for crew members, research projects and partners to join the mission.

The initiative is supported by the German shipping company F. Laeisz, which came on board with many years of experience in operating research vessels. Nikolaus H. Schües, CEO of Reederei F. Laeisz, said: "It is a great honour for us to support Boris Herrmann's team and this sailing research vessel, as our values are very similar: Promoting marine research and accelerating the decarbonisation of shipping are at the heart of our activities."

Other partners include SOOP (Shaping an Ocean Of Possibilities), OceanOPS (IOC/UNESCO & WMO) and the Prince Albert II Foundation. Together, they will collaborate on missions over the next four years and continue to help equip the ship with scientific instruments. The project is also supported by technical partners such as Gleistein and Peter Frisch GmbH - Musto. B&G provided the electronics and SEA.AI donated one of its state-of-the-art anti-collision systems for detecting objects in the sea.

The "OceanPack" comes from Switzerland

The Swiss Vendée Globe skipper Oliver Heer and the Swiss Polar Institute (SPI) are making their OceanPack available to Malizia's research vessel this year. The SPI will also be involved in analysing the data with ETH Zurich and the Universities of Bern and Lausanne. The aim is to show how the offshore racing and scientific communities are working together to advance marine research.

Team Malizia summarised the objective of this new initiative as follows: "By combining the adrenaline of offshore racing with the power of science and storytelling, the project aims to inspire political decision-makers to act, engage the public and push the boundaries of marine research." Boris Herrmann presented the project to stakeholders from politics, science, industry, NGOs and other interested parties in Berlin this Tuesday.

The aim was to "influence national priorities in the areas of climate and health", said Boris Herrmann. In his speech, he emphasised "the urgent need for joint action". The team slogan "A Race We Must Win - Climate Action Now!", the Imoca "Malizia - Seaexplorer" data collection and the "My Ocean Challenge" education programme initiated by Birte Herrmann-Lorenzen and Boris Herrmann, which has reached more than 80,000 children since 2018 and sparked their interest in marine science and climate protection with the adventure of sailing, have also stood for this from the outset.