The Pacific Ocean is rid of 96 tons of plastic and garbage thanks to a sailing cargo ship named the KWAI. Operated by the Ocean Voyages Institute (OVI), the vessel sailed for 45 days in the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone. It targeted and removed ghost nets and plastic waste from the North Pacific Gyre/Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

According to OVI, the infamous stretch of trash- and plastic-laden seas stretches over 500,000 square miles—an area larger than from California to Texas. Under Captain Locky MacLean’s command, the KWAI traveled 4,600 nautical miles from Honolulu to San Francisco collecting debris from the North Pacific Gyre. In total, the OVI team retrieved 211,644 pounds of discarded fishing gear, consumer plastics and other waste—some of which had been floating for decades.

“I am grateful to have been given the responsibility to take on this massive task on behalf of Ocean Voyages Institute,” said MacLean. “Many of my crew are from the Pacific Islands, and we all do this good work for our children, so they will benefit from healthy oceans.”

The KWAI was purchased under an initiative formed at the Paris Climate Accords by the government of the Marshall Islands. The vessel operates in partnership with OVI to clean our ocean and bring awareness.

“Our Captain and crew are outstanding…I am proud of their hard work and grateful for their passion to help our ocean,” said OVI founder and President Mary T. Crowley.

This latest voyage is a continuation of OVI’s mission to develop effective and efficient methods for at-sea cleanups—using GPS satellite trackers and other technology. In 2020, OVI completed the largest ocean cleanup in history, removing 340,000 pounds of plastic from the Pacific Ocean. After this most recent voyage, OVI’s all-time total of plastic removed from the ocean is 692,000 pounds.

All plastic debris removed from the ocean by OVI is recycled, upcycled and repurposed, the nonprofit pledges. Nothing goes back to a landfill or the ocean.

“The ocean is the blue heart of our planet. Keeping our ocean healthy is vital to ocean life and our own health. Our clean-up missions give me great hope for the future of our ocean because change is possible,” Crowley said.