In an industry first, Marella Cruises has installed two Indikon filters onto the Marella Explorer ship’s crew laundry system for the trial to prevent plastic microfibres affecting delicate ecosystems and marine life.
The Indikon is a washing machine filter, engineered by Cleaner Seas Group, that can be fitted to existing washing machines for microplastic capture from the machine’s water waste.
By trialling the filters on the ship, the partnership will take on the biggest ocean microplastic polluter: microfibres from laundry wastewater. Marella Cruises and Cleaner Seas Group will work with the University of Surrey to monitor and measure the microplastics captured on board the ship. Cleaner Seas Group will adapt the filter technology based on the University of Surrey’s findings from the trial and provide long term filter solutions in microplastic capture.
Marella Cruises will review the results of the six-month trial before rolling out the Indikon filters across its entire fleet of ships: Marella Discovery, Marella Discovery 2, Marella Explorer, Marella Explorer 2 and the Marella Voyager.
Olivia Wells, sustainability manager at Marella Cruises, said: “We are committed to finding ways to further look after the natural environment in which our ships sail. By working with Cleaner Seas Group during this six-month trial as an industry first initiative, we believe that it will support future studies on preserving and protecting oceans.”
Dave Miller, CEO of Cleaner Seas Group, said: “We are thrilled to be working on this ocean conservation initiative with Marella Cruises. By collaborating with one of the largest cruise lines in the UK, we hope to set a new course in microplastic capture prevention at sea. Throughout this groundbreaking trial, we will work with the University of Surrey to monitor and measure the rates of microplastics captured in the Indikon filters, whilst simultaneously working with our innovation team to apply and adapt our filtration technology for the cruise industry.”
