Embargoed until August 26, 10:30 am GMT+2
August 26 2022 - 9:13AM
Press Release Embargoed until
August 26, 10:30 am GMT+2
Lausanne, 26th of August 2022
In the early hours of Friday August 12, 2022,
off the coast of Mumbai (India) bad weather turned
worse, just when one of the electric engines fell out, the
unfolding events led to the beaching of the experimental ship
Porrima on the coast of Mumbai. The Indian Coast Guard rescued all
crew members who -at their request- immediately returned home
safely.
Porrima’s core structure seems to have withstood
the shocks of crushing onto rocks before the currents apparently
ditched her onto a sand bank where she emerged for the locals as a
space ship landing from the universe. We express deepest gratitude
to the Indian Coast Guard and the local villagers for their
courageous support and rescue operation.
As the salvaging of Porrima started on
August 24, less than two weeks after the drama we are
optimistic that Porrima will shine again. We are committed to the
original mission, especially our presence at the opening of the
Osaka World Expo in April 2025.
Porrima -the Goddess of the Future according to
Roman mythology- had just finished her voyage from Tokyo to Dubai
(18/12/2021 to 16/3/2022). She was nominated Ambassador of the
Osaka World Expo. As Expo Ambassador, Porrima traveled to Dubai for
the closing of the World Expo in the Emirates and to announce the
next one in Osaka.
Porrima shone in the Middle East with dozens of
leaders from all continents on board appreciating the pioneering
efforts to change the business and energy model of maritime
transport. Porrima introduces a broad set of surprising
technologies from an intelligent skysail, to hydrogen produced from
sea water, or internet over light, just to name a few.
Interest in present and future breakthroughs
strengthened the owner’s resolve to pursue a strategy of
“industrialization”: build ships that can cruise the seas
without any pollution and finally make a dent in this
carbon intense transport.
While in Dubai, the opportunity emerged to
participate at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar next November. After
Porrima missed the Tokyo Olympics due to COVID - even when berthed
just dozens of kilometers from the main events - Qatar was a
welcome invitation.
Singapore was chosen as the location to refit
the ship. It was also decided to build new and improved editions of
Porrima in 2024 ready for 2025. We committed to continue to pioneer
with the first ship that circumnavigated the world with solar power
only (2010-2012) and create a new category of ships turning this
unique vessel into a family.
The Porrima design and its resilience was proven
over 95,000 nautical miles and during this recent stormy drama. A
global top team takes clues from the lessons learned so that we can
accelerate the urgent transition towards a Blue Economy, a program
of the United Nations and over 50 national governments. This will
require not only innovative technologies, it will require many
pioneers, entrepreneurs and political leadership.
Porrima is an exceptional ship with an
exceptional mission in need of an
exceptional team. Sailing on Porrima while experimenting
requires a crew ready to face and overcome challenges. The greatest
lesson we learned is that we need much more talent in order to
achieve this urgent ecological transition: No university teaches
future engineers to design zero emissions transport as a standard,
nor how to operate an intelligent kite, or to convert seawater into
hydrogen.
In parallel to undertaking with the support of
the insurer the repair of Porrima, and the subsequent construction
of a new category of ships, we will create the Blue Campus
which will start its programs in 2023. Here the next
generation can learn how to design, build and operate novel ships.
Then, we hope that these “astronauts of
the seas” will redesign local
communities capable to respond to the urgent needs for
water, food and jobs sustainably.
Last April, we announced together with WISeKey
the sale of the first sustainable NFT with the authentic solar
panels installed on Porrima in 2010. Each panel has a unique
history and emotional capital. These NFTs are now available on the
WISe.ART platform. These panels have been exposed to extreme
weather and are astonishingly resistant to the most stressful
conditions. All panels survived the incident and continue to
operate!
For any inquiries please
contact Mr. Jean Luc Wilain, the spokesperson for Blue
Innovations can be contacted at jl.wilain@porrima.ch
www.blueinnovations.chwww.porrima.euwww.WISe.ART
Photos free of copyrights are available
upon request
Blue Innovations S.A. is a Lausanne-based
company dedicated to the promotion and the industrialization of
innovative technologies based on the Blue Economy. It was created
in 2020 and Porrima is its main program.
Porrima Foundation has just been established and
aims to operate the Blue Campus, as well as to promote the
technologies that drive maritime transport and coastal communities
towards sustainability.
WISeKey International Holding Ltd (SIX: WIHN,
NASDAQ: WKEY), a Swiss based cyber security, IoT, AI company
committed to delivering proof of operations for technologies that
will change reality and transform society.
NFT Porrima offers each solar panel US$2,222
with the option to acquire the physical serialized version with its
microchip for US$10,000. The proceeds will finance the repair and
refitting of the next generation vessels. Collectors buying these
panels will not only support the Porrima program but become their
exclusive owners with the certainty of acquiring unique, top
quality and state-of-the-art technology for their personal use. The
panels will be available next year.
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