This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Tackling the growing


plastic pollution problem MARIN carries out successful towing and seakeeping tests on The Ocean Cleanup System 001.


Overview of the 120m long barrier segment during wave tests T


Joost Sterenborg & Nicola Grasso


j.sterenborg@marin.nl 20 report


he plastic present in the world’s oceans has negative effects on the environment, the economy, the health of the sea life and –


consequently – the people. Plastic tends to accumulate in ocean gyres leading to high concentration of plastic and microplastics being present. In light of this problem, The Ocean Cleanup has developed and built the first prototype of a free-floating cleanup system that will be placed in the North Pacific gyre to confine plastics and ease their collection. This full-scale system was recently launched in the Pacific Ocean and consists


of an HDPE floating pipe with a 3-metre submerged skirt. During the final design phase, MARIN assisted The Ocean Cleanup by carrying out model tests to investigate the kinematics and loads on the barrier and screen.


The model test campaign mainly focused on the submerged skirt of a 120-metre system section in both operating conditions and in a towing configuration. During the development process, extensive tests of the skirt were necessary due to


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28