The Mobula 8 : an Indonesian odyssey
Indonesia
Mobula
14 February 2023
We love challenges...
And fortunately! Because since the creation of the NGO in 2016, many challenges have been imposed on our teams. If we manage to take them up, it is mainly thanks to all those people who mobilize at our side to make our wildest dreams come true. Among them, the transportation of the Mobula 8 to Indonesia, one of the 5 countries in the world that dump the most plastic into the sea.
Heading to Indonesia!
In this archipelago of 273.8 million inhabitants, which is home to one of the world’s greatest biodiversities, plastic pollution is a dangerous threat to the oceans: between 200 and 550 thousand tons of marine waste are discarded in the waters every year. {*}
In its desire to prevent plastic pollution at the source, The SeaCleaners has chosen this highly affected part of the world to carry out collection, recovery and awareness actions. With the Mobula 8, the first boat of a fleet of multipurpose pollution control vessels, the association intends to tackle this scourge in order to protect rivers, coasts, mangroves…
Built in Paimpol, Brittany, with the SME Efinor Sea Cleaner, the Mobula 8 set sail for Indonesia from Le Havre on October 18, 2022. Far from being a long quiet river, the routing of such a boat represents many challenges! Thanks to Fiona Yap, founder of the Bali Marine Service, our boat has (finally 🥳) arrived at the right port and is ready to enter into operation. The inauguration date is set: it will be March 20!
Bali Marine Service, a key player in the journey of the Mobula 8
After ten years working for a leading European yacht dealer in Monte Carlo, Fiona Yap decided to start her own business. 3 years later, she now manages a team of over 100 captains for a fleet of 57 leisure boats! Her company, Bali Marine Service, was a real facilitator for The SeaCleaners in the Indonesian adventure of the Mobula 8.
Considered as the port agent of the M8 to facilitate its passage through customs and temporary import, her company assists us in all formalities allowing the M8 to operate in Indonesia, such as the Harbour Master’s authorization (KSOP). She is also behind our partnership with BaliFiberGlass, the local shipyard that manages the dry storage of the boat, the preparation works and the launching of the M8.
Recruited crew
Leading a clean-up plan in Indonesia requires means, contacts, and a place in which to develop all our projects! Thanks to Fiona, our teams are growing: Captain and operating crew of the Mobula 8 are recruited and can be hosted in our local office located in the Benoa Port area at Indonusa Marine. Our cleanup boat will be moored in its marina, before starting its collection operations 5 days a week in a few weeks!
These last few months have been a real achievement for the SeaCleaners team, marking a new turning point in the life of the association. We are proud to be able to carry out concrete collection actions, at sea and on land, thanks to the involvement of our employees on site, but also of all our local partners.
Ketut Sudarwata is also a new strong link in the organization. Ketut has joined us as a project manager. Very well established locally, his work and his interpersonal skills (always accompanied by a huge smile!) allow us to work within the communities, as a key player in raising awareness of the preservation of the oceans in Bali.
“I am an environmental activist and I have long wondered why Indonesians' awareness, despite being educated and cultured, was so low when it came to plastic pollution. It is to change this that I got involved with The SeaCleaners. My goal is to raise funds to achieve my dream: to build a waste management training center based on the concept of cultural arts. Because I believe that only culture and the circular economy can change people's minds.”
